Once in a Lifetime
by Shines22
Summary: A year after Sora, Riku, and Kairi got back from their big adventure, they met you. You were like them but just happened to be on the wrong side. Now four years later, making you, Sora, and Kairi all nineteen, and Riku twenty, you have a new place to live
1. 01

You sat in your seat on the Gummi ship, across the way from Kairi while Riku and Sora took their usual spots as captain and co-captain. For being nearly twenty years old, Sora always acted like a child when Riku was the captain of the ship. But since Riku was in fact older than Sora, he always got first picks of being captain.

"I see it, I see it!" Sora shouted excitedly from the co-captain seat.  
Kairi looked over at you and smiled with just as much enthusiasm. She looked out her window and you stared out yours. You felt the ship land on the platform and Sora got up as soon as the ship landed.  
"Let's go!" He shouted, pulling Kairi up by her hand which made her laugh.

Sora looked the same as he always did, same brown hair, same eyes, big and blue, except the fact that he was much taller than before.  
Kairi got up, following Sora. Her red hair went past her shoulders a bit and her eyes were just the same as they always had been, blue. She had grown as well but not as tall as Sora.

"This is exciting," she said happily.

Last to stand up was Riku as he came from the front. Riku was absolutely gorgeous to you. His silver hair was cut short a couple years back, making his hair about the same length from when you met him. And his eyes... Oh, his eyes were just amazing. They were irresistible and that's what you usually stared at.

"It's just another world, nothing that exciting." Riku said dully.  
"But it's not a world!" Sora exclaimed.

Sora was still a little kid at heart, which always had its humorous sides for everyone but Riku liked to act mature, even though you could catch him smiling. Riku rolled his eyes at Sora and you smiled at him.

"You gonna get up?"  
"Huh?" You were too busy paying attention to the guys that you didn't notice you were still strapped into your seat. "I was getting to that, Riku."

Riku smiled and you blushed as you pulled your seat belt off. You stood up quickly and cut in front of him on the way to the exit. You heard him laugh lightly and you turned your head to smile at him.

You let Sora and Kairi go out before you and Sora was grateful because the more time he was in the ship, the more he would probably explode from excitement.

You stepped off onto the ship platform and looked around in amazement. King Mickey informed all of you that this new "world" was in fact a ship that they had spent years building. The new ship was being called The Tower since it was a huge tower that many people could live on.  
King Mickey offered the lot of you to live on the Tower but Riku, Kairi, and Sora were unsure. You took the offer as soon as it was announced because you didn't find Destiny Islands to your liking. You loved the people there, the weather and everything about it but it just wasn't the same as Twilight Town. And going back to Twilight Town just wasn't an option. Everyone thought you were dead because of when you left with Maleficent.

As you looked around, you saw King Mickey, Queen Minnie, Donald, Goofy, and Daisy standing on the platform, waiting to greet you.  
"Donald!" You shouted happily as you saw him.  
Donald smiled too and you ran towards him at full speed which made him gulp in fear.  
"Slow down!" Donald shouted.  
You tried to slow down but it didn't work as well as you hoped because you almost ran into Donald but he ducked at the last minute, causing you to trip over him and land on Goofy.  
"Gawrsh, are you all right?" Goofy asked as you as you got up.  
You laughed and nodded.  
"Of course," You answered.  
"You need to learn to be less clumsy." Riku sneered as he walked past you.  
"And you need to learn to be nicer." You snapped back.  
He smiled at you and you rolled your eyes at him as you hugged Donald, finally.

King Mickey walked you all to the doors of the ship, which were on your left, and two guards stood there, gazing off into space. Sora cocked his head to the side as he stared at the guards.  
The guards noticed Sora looking at them and went back to their positions.  
"Good day, King Mickey!" They shouted at the same time, saluting.  
"Hello." Mickey responded as he placed his hand on a glass sphere placed a couple feet in front of the guards.  
On the wall across the doors, a picture of King Mickey appeared with his name underneath and under that was a sign that said "Access Granted."  
The sliding doors opened and King Mickey led you into the ship.  
"Whoa..." Sora muttered while looking around the huge ship.  
Mickey laughed at Sora's bewilderment and led you to the flight deck where the captain of The Tower was waiting.


	2. 02

You and Riku walked next to each other but made sure not to stand that close. You liked him and it was rumored around Destiny Islands that Riku liked you back. But it just wasn't something you two were into. Kairi and Sora, on the other hand, started to date after you came into their group.

"Riku! Riku! Look!" Sora shouted frantically to Riku.  
You and Riku both stopped walking and turned to look at Sora and Kairi staring out a large window. You looked at Riku and he shrugged. You both walked to the window and stared out it in awe with Sora and Kairi.

Outside was an amazing view of the stars which, all of you knew, were worlds. You smiled at Riku and he smiled back and turned to look out the window.  
"This is amazing." You said.  
"Do you think that's Twilight Town?" Sora asked, pointing out a star in front of you all.  
"Actually, that would be The Deep Jungle." Someone informed Sora.

You all turned to your left to see a man in uniform staring out the same window. King Mickey came walking down the hallway and smiled at the lot of you.  
"This is Captain Rufus Shinra." Mickey explained.  
Sora and Riku saluted while Kairi and you looked at each other. Riku ribbed you with his free arm and you saluted automatically.

Captain Rufus saluted Riku, Sora and you in response and you all put your arms down.  
"I'm happy to welcome you all to The Tower," Captain Rufus said.  
"Thank you." Kairi, Riku, Sora and you answered.  
"If you will follow me, I can show you to the flight deck."  
Riku looked at you and you smiled at him while following Sora and Kairi, who were hand in hand.

-_-_-_-  
"Wow!" You muttered as you stepped into the flight deck.

Two guards came up to the captain as soon as he came in, waiting for something to do for him. You looked at the two guards, one with a red helmet over his long black hair, partially covering his yellow eyes, which caused you to look away. He also wore a long coat, that covered his lower part of his face but you could see it occasionally when he looked up. The other was a girl, with short blond hair and brown eyes, seemed more interested in what she was doing then the other guard did.

You looked at Riku, who was looking around the flight deck in amazement. You smiled at him and he noticed, which caused him to frown.  
"What?" He asked.  
"Are you impressed?" You asked, nearly in shock.  
"No, of course not," Riku responded.  
"Sometimes, it's okay to be impressed." You whispered.  
Riku rolled his eyes and walked in front of you, which caused you to follow.

"So what do you think so far?" Donald asked.  
"It's amazing!" Kairi exclaimed.  
Sora nodded sheepishly, which caused Riku to roll his eyes again. Everyone stared at him, waiting for his answer.  
"It's nice."  
Queen Minnie smiled at you and you smiled back happily.  
"What do you think?" Minnie asked you.  
"It's amazing here. I cannot wait to move here."

Riku, Sora and Kairi looked at each other and smiled at you.  
"I'm considering moving here too." Kairi muttered.  
Sora and Riku looked at her, a little surprised.

She was the one that was unsure about moving up to The Tower. She loved it in Destiny Islands, even though she didn't have that much of family.

"Really, Kairi?" Sora asked, grabbing her hand. She smiled and nodded which made Sora smile just as big. "Then, I'm moving here too."  
Kairi hugged Sora and everyone smiled at the two.

Riku walked to the front of the flight deck and looked out the huge window.  
"I would miss Destiny Islands, but this place is pretty amazing." Mickey, Minnie, and you looked at Riku, smiling at him. "Are you sure you two want to move here?" Riku asked his two companions. Sora nodded and Kairi smiled. "Then, I guess we should go get our stuff."

Donald and Goofy jumped up in excitement. Kairi and Sora laughed in relief and jumped up and down with Donald and Goofy.  
"Woo hoo!" Sora shouted.

You ran up to Riku and jumped on him, but he wasn't fully prepared for you as he just turned around from facing the window.  
You knocked him over and flipped your hair out of your face, smiling at him. He smiled back and pulled the collar on your shirt, bringing you closer to him.

You blushed as you got closer and closer to his face.  
"Are you blushing?" He asked; his breath causing goose bumps crawl up your arm.  
You pulled back but he was stronger than you and pulled you all the way down to his lips.


	3. 03

"Hey," Sora said happily as he saw you.  
"Hi Sora, where are you heading to?" You asked as you walked towards the dining room.  
"To get something to eat, duh!"  
You rolled your eyes and smiled.

The sliding doors opened and Sora and you walked into the dining room, where everyone was eating their dinner.  
"Doesn't look like we're too late," Sora said as he looked for Kairi.  
"Actually, I think we are."  
You pointed out Kairi who was sitting at your usual table with Riku. She was staring the both of you down, tapping her foot violently.  
"I don't think I want to sit down." You muttered as the two of you walked very slowly.  
"Join the club."

You and Sora stood in front of Riku and Kairi and burst into stupid grins to get them to smile. It worked for Riku as he smiled at you two but Kairi wasn't as amused.  
"You're late," Kairi said in a matter-of-fact tone.  
You looked at Sora and he stared back but then turned back to Kairi.

"It was all her fault!" Sora shouted, pointing at you.  
"What?" You roared.  
Riku rolled his eyes and Kairi smiled. Sora and you got into a whole dispute on who made who late. Of course, neither of you were with each other when you both turned out late but Sora just saw it fit to argue that you were the one that dragged him into the cockpit to talk to Captain Rufus.

The ship rocked violently all of a sudden, causing you and Sora to nearly fall over. You, unfortunately, weren't granted the gift of gracefulness but Riku stood up to help you from falling. Sora almost made it from not falling but someone else fell on top of him, cascading him into the floor.

"I didn't even get to eat!" Sora shouted as he bounced up.  
Riku stood you back up on your two feet and you dusted the imaginary dust off yourself.

"Good luck," Kairi said.  
She kissed Sora on the cheek and Sora beamed. She left in a hurry along with the others, going to a fort in the ship to protect anyone from the attack going on outside.

"You guys ready?" Sora asked, fixing his shirt.  
"Let's do this." You answered happily.

-_-_-_-_-  
"Captain! What do you need us to do?" Sora yelled.  
Captain Rufus turned around, away from the window, and looked at the three of you.

"They're here." He answered sorrowfully. "They have called a war upon us."  
"All right, war." You said coolly, which caused Riku, Sora and Captain Rufus to look at you strangely. "What?" You asked, confused by their reaction.

"Did you call King Mickey?" Riku asked.  
"Yes, I have. They are on their way at the moment."  
"They?" You asked; confused by who else could come.  
"Donald Duck and Goofy," Riku answered for the captain.  
"Oh, right." You replied, scratching your head at why you wouldn't know that.

Riku and Sora moved their arms quickly and rather harshly to produce their Keyblades. You stared at them, and frowned. You decided to do the same arm movement but Riku and Sora stared at you, a confused look on their face.

"What are you doing?" Sora asked.  
"Getting my weapon," You responded.  
As soon as your arm stopped the movement, you quickly grabbed the gun in your belt.

"Ta-dah!" You shouted with pride as you showed them your gun.  
Sora laughed but Riku just rolled his eyes.

"You're just jealous, Mr. Riku."  
"Yes," he answered dully, "very jealous."  
Sora laughed again but Captain Rufus just looked at you all.

"Okay, well, we'll get ready." Sora said, as he inched slowly away from the captain.


	4. 04

You inspected your gun and made sure that you had enough bullets even though you wouldn't exactly be using them out on the field. You were in the middle of space and the only things that you would be fighting in were new and high tech Gummi ships that some man created. Sora informed you that the man was Cid but you had no idea who that was.

"Hey." Someone said to you which caused you to turn around.  
"Hello Vincent." You responded happily.

Vincent Valentine worked on The Tower before you came to live on it but he was just as old as Riku was. He wore his red helmet over his long black hair and his yellow eyes became more comforting as you got to know him.  
He was Captain Rufus' assistant that worked along side of Elena. Vincent wasn't much into his job as Elena was but they were indeed hard workers which Captain Rufus appreciated.

"So do you want me to work with Sora today or do you want to?" He asked.  
"I think I will today, if you don't mind."  
"He's all yours."

You, Riku, Sora, and Vincent all worked with each other to fight off anyone who came to destroy The Tower. There was a Defensive Team and an Offensive Team which was self explanatory. Usually, Riku and Sora were on the Offensive Team while you and Vincent protected the ship from anyone that the Offensive Team missed. But since Sora and Riku are natural rivals for competition, it ended up badly, causing you or Vincent to work with Sora or Riku, whom ever you picked for the day.

You laughed and Vincent smiled behind his long coat. He walked away, probably to tell Captain Rufus who was working with whom for this war. You walked off to the entrance of The Tower to wait for King Mickey along with Sora, who was very anxious to see Donald and Goofy again.

The sliding doors opened and King Mickey came in with Donald and Goofy along side of him.  
"Donald! Goofy!" Sora shouted, very excited.  
"Sora!" They shouted with the same enthusiasm.  
"Hello King Mickey." Captain Rufus said suddenly which caused you and Sora to flinch in fear.  
King Mickey nodded to the captain and walked with him to the Captain's quarters to talk about whom was attacking your ship. You all followed behind them, trying to eavesdrop but making sure they didn't notice.

-_-_-_-  
"So have you contacted him?" King Mickey asked Captain Rufus while you were all in the flight deck.  
"Not yet, your majesty. But he did try to contact us before you arrived."  
"While try to get him. I want to talk to him."  
King Mickey turned around while Captain Rufus told Elena and Vincent what to do.

"Hello King Mickey." You said sweetly, hoping to turn his mood around.  
"Hello. It's good to see you again."  
Riku came into the cockpit and saw King Mickey immediately, which caused him to run towards Mickey in a less mature way.  
"Mickey!"  
"Hello Riku. How are you?"  
"I'm great. What about you?"  
"Fantastic."  
Sora came forward to Riku and King Mickey smiled.  
"Hello Sora. How are you?"  
"Good."  
"And Kairi?"  
"She's great." Sora said, a little too happily.  
You and Riku smiled, which made Sora frown.  
"Shut up guys."  
"We didn't even say anything!" You shouted in your defense.

Suddenly, on the screen in front of the window, appeared some man covered completely in armor.  
"Ah, King Mickey. Long time no see, good friend."  
The man's voice was deep and sounded a little mechanic, maybe due to the armor he was wearing. He also seemed like a big man, although all you could see was his head and a little of his shoulders. But his armor was gold and silver along with little accents of green on the top of his shoulders and on the side of his face.  
"Who are you?" Mickey asked in a stern voice.  
"My name is Dreg." You looked at Riku, who was looking at the screen, not caring about anything else but that man, so you turned to Sora who was the same exact away. "And my men are the ones attacking you, as you so noticed."  
"Yes, we have."  
"So, you came to watch the war then? That's a shame you will be stuck on The Tower the moment it's destroyed. Hope you left your love with that dear wife of yours."  
King Mickey frowned at the man and took a step forward.

"You're not destroying our home!" Sora yelled at Dreg.  
"Sora? Glad to see you dropped by as well. Make life easier on me. Is Kairi and Riku on The Tower as well?" Sora took a step back, a little frightened for Kairi.  
"I'll take that as a yes. Looks like I have all the Keybearers in my hands. All that's left is to destroy them. Thank you so very much Captain Shinra. I'll remember to mention your name as soon as I take over the worlds." Captain Rufus glared angrily at Dreg and he laughed. "Prepare for war. That's all that you can do."

The screen went blank and Captain Rufus turned to Elena.  
"Get him back on and find out where he is located."  
"Yes sir!"  
"King Mickey, you must get off the ship immediately. Sora, Kairi, and Riku must accompany you."  
"I'm not leaving." Sora said to the captain.  
"Neither am I." Riku said, smiling at you.  
"Then, looks like I'm staying as well,"  
"I will not be held responsible for the death of the King and the three Keybearers. You have my assurance that I will not let this ship fall."  
"I believe you, my friend. But I must stay here."

Captain Rufus smiled a little and nodded.  
"Vincent!"  
"Yes sir?"  
"Prepare an emergency vessel for the King and the Keybearers if worse comes to worse, understood?"  
"Yes sir."

"Prepare for war!" King Mickey shouted to all the crew members.  
The crew members cheered loudly and ran around the flight deck, sounding alarms and preparing all the war ships.


	5. 05

"I'm going to find Kairi." Sora said quickly.  
You all nodded and Sora signaled Donald and Goofy to follow him. They left with Sora and Riku took your hand to lead you out of the cockpit. You two walked for a little while and he turned sharply, cornering you into a corner.  
"What are you doing, Riku?" You asked shyly.  
"I can't be alone with my girlfriend? What has happened to the society?" He said sarcastically.  
"Are you done?" You asked dully.  
"No, not really,"  
You rolled your eyes as he went on and on. You sighed loudly, which caused him to smirk and you kissed him, interrupting his long speech.  
"Now, I'm done."  
You kissed him again and he pinned you against the wall, placing his arms around your waist. You put your arms around his neck and kissed him deeply.

"Get a room!"  
You looked to your right and saw Sora grinning at you two.  
"Hi Sora," You said as you pulled away from Riku.  
Riku pinned you against the wall and whispered into your ear, "We aren't done."  
You laughed and pushed him away again but this time, he stepped back to release you.  
"Come on, Sora! You don't hear me saying that when you and Kairi kiss." Riku complained.  
"Yeah I do! You always say it!"  
You and Riku laughed as Sora stood there, embarrassed. Donald and Goofy laughed with you which caused Sora to glare angrily at Riku.  
"Come on, I don't have time for this!"  
Riku took your hand again and lead you to the flight deck to see what was to happen next.

-_-_-_-  
"Offensive team, you will be in charge of destroying any enemy Gummi ships. Defensive team, you will guard our shields, whatever the cost."  
The crew, who consisted of Riku, Sora, Vincent, you and a noble flight crew, all saluted.

Donald and Goofy took a couple steps forward, staring straight at Captain Rufus.  
"We would like to help too." Donald spoke for the two of them.  
Captain Rufus looked at King Mickey, who nodded, and Captain Rufus smiled.  
"Of course you can." He turned sharply, making Elena appear right at his side.  
"Yes sir?"  
"Prepare two more ships for Donald and Goofy."  
"Yes sir."

Sora, Riku, Vincent and you all grabbed helmets equipped with headsets, movement sensors to alarm you of any oncoming ships, and well, it just protected your head if worse came to worse. Goofy and Donald came running along to grab their own helmets and you smiled at the two of them.  
"You guys shouldn't do this! You have to protect King Mickey." Sora said.  
"They're old enough to make their own decisions, Sora!" You shot back.  
"No! I know they are but I don't want them out there. What happens if they get hurt?"  
"What happens if you get hurt?" Riku muttered. Sora, you, Vincent, Donald, and Goofy all looked at him, questioningly and he strapped his helmet on. "What?"  
You all shook your head and finished with your helmets.

"Good luck to all of you." Captain Rufus said to all his crew.  
Sora, Riku, Vincent and you quickly went to your ships but Donald and Goofy were held back by the captain for a word.  
Sora came to you quickly and hugged you before getting into his ship. You smiled at him and turned to Riku, who smiled back.  
"Good luck," Vincent said to you.  
"You too," You said, making him smile.  
Vincent jumped into his ship and you looked at Riku, who was frowning.

"What?" You asked, walking slowly towards him.  
"Nothing," Riku answered harshly.  
"No, that's not 'nothing.' What?"  
"Nothing, all right? Can't we just leave it at that?"  
Riku got into his Gummi ship and slammed the door before you could say anything else.  
"What is your problem?" You shouted through the closed door.  
You huffed off to your ship and slammed the door in your anger.


	6. 06

"Hey can you hear me?" Sora whispered to you through the headsets.  
"Hello Sora." You responded.  
"Can you hear me Vincent?" Sora asked in the same whisper.  
"Sora?" Vincent asked, a little confused by the whispering.  
"Riku?"  
"Yes Sora?"  
"Can you hear me?"  
"Loud and clear," Riku replied.  
"Yes!" Sora shouted in victory, which caused the headsets to ring loudly in all your ears.  
"Ow!" Riku, Vincent, you and other crew members on the same frequency whined.  
"Oh, sorry." Sora said quietly.  
"How do you work this?" Donald shouted through the headsets.  
"Ow!" You all yelled again.  
"Gawrsh, sorry."  
"You all ready?" Captain Rufus' voice came on over the headsets.  
"Yep!" You said.  
"Yes sir." Vincent and most of the crew responded.  
"Let's go kick some butt!" Sora said happily.  
"Yeah!" Donald and Goofy shouted really loudly.  
"Ow!" Everyone shouted again.  
"Just go!" Captain Rufus muttered, like he was disappointed in his army.

-_-_-_-  
"Wow, and I thought this war would be more exciting." You muttered to Sora.  
"Just think, when this is all over, we can eat!"  
"Maybe if you guys learned to be on time, you could have eaten." A soldier said to you two.  
"Ha, right! Like that would happen." Sora laughed.

"The enemy has arrived." Another soldier said to all of you.  
"All right, battle stations guys!" Sora said to everyone on offensive team.

Two Gummi ships flew past you quickly, which you weren't expecting.  
"Oh my goodness!" You shouted as you turned your ship around. You pursued the two ships, shooting furiously at them so they couldn't get to the Tower but the two ships wouldn't go down.  
"Need some help?" A soldier asked as he appeared next to you.  
"Yes please." You responded as you shot at one Gummi ship you had your eye on.  
"Oh..." You heard Sora curse.  
"What?" You asked as you shot your last shot at the ship, making it explode. "Yes!" You cheered.  
"We have a lot of company."  
"Yah!" You cheered lamely.

-_-_-_-  
"Get off my tail! I swear!" You shouted into the headsets, even though the enemy couldn't hear.  
You ship rocked violently, meaning you got shot at again and you fumed. You pulled up harshly on the wheel, causing the ship to do a flip to end up behind the enemy Gummi ship.  
"Ha!" You shouted in victory.  
You shot at the Gummi ship and it went down quickly, not expecting your maneuver.

"Sora, there are five behind you." You said as you flew towards him.  
"This is what I get for being the Keybearer. Only me!"  
"Hey!" Riku shouted over the headsets. "What am I doing over here? Doing my nails?"  
"No, you're doing _nothing_." You hissed.  
Riku didn't respond and you chuckled to yourself. You turned off his frequency, leaving only the defensive team to hear you.  
"That wasn't nice." Donald said to you.  
"He deserved that."  
"Still not nice," Sora responded, avoiding the Gummi ships.  
"I don't mean it though..."  
"But does he know that?" Goofy asked.

You frowned and shot at the ships behind Sora. You blew up two of them, but three were still in his pursuit. Suddenly, two more blew up which caused you to look around to see who shot those.  
"You're welcome Sora."  
"Thank you Donald."  
You laughed as you shot the remaining Gummi ship on Sora's tail which left Sora to fly free.

-_-_-_-  
"What do we do? What do we do?" You asked in panic.  
"I don't know!" Sora shouted angrily.  
Ten Gummi ships were now following you and Sora and no one could come to your assistance. Donald and Goofy were caught up in ten of their own Gummi ships and so was everyone else. The Gummi ships came from no where and they were plentiful.

"I have an idea!" You suddenly shouted.  
"Okay, what?"  
"If we can get behind them, we'll have the advantage, right?"  
"Right, but how do you expect to get behind them?"  
You were shot at again, causing some alarms to go off in your Gummi ship. You hit a bunch of buttons, frustrated.  
"Yes I know my ship is damaged!" You shouted.  
"What?"  
"No... Sorry. Okay, so I did a flip before. All you have to do is pull the wheel up quickly. And you're behind them!"  
"Okay... Okay! Yeah, that will work!"

-_-_-_-  
"Ready?"  
"Ready." You replied.  
"Three."  
You looked up at the Tower, smiling as you saw Riku's ship fighting off the enemy.  
"Two."  
You hit many buttons and it flashed green in your ship.  
"One."  
"Okay." You whispered, a little fearful.  
"Go!" Sora shouted.  
You two both jerked up the wheel, sending you both into flips.

"No!" You heard Sora shout.  
You heard many alarms. Not in your ship, but in Sora's.  
"Sora! What happened?"  
"Watch out!" Donald shouted.  
Your ship was hit very hard by something outside. Alarms went off in your ship as well as Sora's. Your ship crumpled under the weight of the force outside, you still unaware of what it was. The computers in front of you collapsed on your legs, bracing you in your seat. You tried to push on the computers but they wouldn't bulge but the ship wasn't in your control anymore.  
"Sora?" You asked, in a panic.  
No response though and you started to tear up.  
"Donald?"  
Nothing came from him either and you took off your helmet, very upset by the response you weren't getting.

Something else happened outside, like you hit one more thing but this time you weren't wearing your helmet and you hit your head hard on the wall, knocking you unconscious.


	7. 07

You slowly opened your eyes and found yourself in your ship. A couple lights were blinking but nothing seemed to be working. You noticed that the computers that were in front of you still pressed against you legs, holding you in there. You pushed the computers as hard as you could to try to free your legs. It was very hard and after about half an hour, you got out. You climbed out of your Gummi ship and looked around to find yourself in a jungle. You got back into your ship and looked at your blinking screen in the back which read 'Deep Jungle.' You tapped on the screen and it shut off.  
"No, no, no, no, no. This can't be happening."  
You put on your helmet again, trying to reach a signal.  
"Can anyone hear me? I've crash landed in the Deep Jungle."  
Nothing but static responded and you threw the helmet at the wall in frustration.  
You climbed back out again and noticed another ship not too far away. Sora's ship.  
"Sora!" You shouted as you stumbled to his ship.

You opened the emergency hatch and a lot of smoke came out of the inside of his ship. You coughed, rubbing your eyes but kept on searching for Sora. You finally couldn't take all the smoke and turned away. Your eyes were watering, from either the smoke or from not finding Sora, so you ran away from the ship, into the jungle.

You finally stopped running, crying your eyes out about Sora. You rubbed your cheek as it felt wet and noticed a lot of blood on your hand now. You examined your arms which were covered in burns from the wires and scraps. You tried to clean your cheek with your sleeve but that ended up smearing it up. In front of you, a big stump sat there and you crawled to it. You pulled out your pocket knife and stabbed it into the stump, pulled it out and stabbed it in again.  
"Sora..." You mumbled as you wiped your tears again.

You reached behind your neck and removed your necklace from under your uniform. Your necklace, a locket that Riku gave to you and in the locket was a picture of Sora, Kairi, Donald, and Goofy and on the other side of the locket, was you and Riku together, laughing.  
"You can't go back now." A mechanical voice said. "They will all blame you for Sora's death."  
Tears streamed down your cheeks.  
"It's not my fault!" You screamed to no one in particular.  
"Are you okay?"

You jumped at the sound of someone's voice. You suddenly became a little happy, thinking it may be Sora. You turned around and saw a man with spiky brown hair and a scar across the bridge of his nose. A Gummi ship was behind him, how he came to the Deep Jungle so you wiped your tears and stood up.  
"I heard your call. Do you need help?" You nodded and he smiled. "Where do you need to go?"  
"When you show up without Sora, they will hate you forever." The mechanical voice said.  
Another wave of tears overcame you but you tried your best to hold it in.  
"Take me to Hollow Bastion."  
The man nodded and held out his hand to help you up. You wobbled to his ship, his arm around your waist to hold you up.


	8. 07 and a half

You wandered around the streets of Hollow Bastion as you always did during the nights. Thirteen years of living in Hollow Bastion was good for you. You sort of, forgot everything of your previous life. Now all you concentrated on was your life there in Hollow Bastion with Leon, Cid, Yuffie, and the gang.

Dog whistles came from your left which made you look over in that direction. A group of men were smiling at you, but not in the nice way.  
You smiled at them and walked up to them, strutting your stuff. They grinned mischievously but you just kept on smiling.  
One of the men tried to grab your arm but you threw him into a building and the other men looked terrified.  
"Next time any of you look at me like that again, I'll have to kick all your asses, understand?" They all nodded in unison and you nodded and grinned. "See ya'll later then." You winked at them and left to your home.

-_-_-_-  
"Do you ever miss your family?"  
"Do you even have family?"  
"Zack! That's not a very nice thing to say!" Tifa called from the kitchen.  
You smiled at the three kids sitting around the table with you, playing a game of cards.  
"No, I do miss my family. It's just... I don't think they miss me."  
"Why wouldn't they?" The little girl Marlene asked.  
"I don't think they know I'm gone." You mumbled as you threw some munny into the middle of the table.  
"How do they not know you're gone? You've been here as long as I can remember so that's at least... twelve years." Zack pointed out.  
"You can't remember that far back." You explained. "You came here when you were two. You're twelve now."  
Zack pondered that statement for a minute, shrugged and went back to looking at his cards.

"Do you want to go back to the Deep Jungle?" Leon asked from the couch.  
"Why would I want to go back there? I crash landed, remember? Or are you getting that old that you can't remember anything?"  
Leon stood up angrily and you laughed at him as Yuffie and Cloud blocked him from getting to you.  
"Better watch yourself." Leon threatened.  
"But I don't think I'll be welcomed back home."  
"Where is home anyways?" Yuffie asked, looking at you curiously.  
"You wouldn't know it."  
"You'll be surprised how much I know."

You smiled and turned your cards face up, showing all your cards to the kids.  
"No fair!" Zack shouted, throwing his cards on the card in frustration.  
"How did I do?" Marlene asked showing her cards.  
Denzel laughed and your jaw dropped. "No way!" You exclaimed.  
"What?" Marlene asked.  
"You won." Denzel said, collecting the munny from the middle of the table for her.  
"I lost..." You groaned and covered your face with your hands.

"Dinner's ready." Aerith called.  
Everyone got up and grabbed their plate from the kitchen and sat around the house eating and talking.  
"Ya sure ya don't want to go home?" Cid asked you.  
"Not really. I've thought about it before... But, maybe some day."  
"How about tomorrow?" Cloud whispered to you as everyone else was laughing about something Yuffie said.  
"What do you mean tomorrow? Like go back home?"  
"Yeah," Cloud and Cid answered.  
"I don't think that's possible."  
"Why not?" Cid asked.  
"Because my family thinks I'm dead. I've been gone for thirteen years, what would you think?"  
"I still think you should go back." Cloud muttered.  
You groaned loudly and Cloud smiled, knowing he won.  
"I don't know how you do it Cloud but I will learn someday."  
Cloud grinned and Aerith looked at him curiously.

-_-_-_-  
"Do you need any of us to come with you?" Aerith asked, holding your pack out for you as you stared at the Gummi ship in front of you.  
"Uh, no. I think I should do this by myself." Aerith looked at little hesitant about that but Cloud put his hand on her shoulder, comforting her about it and she nodded.  
"Well, don't forget to come back. Who's gonna babysit the kids now?" Yuffie asked you.  
You laughed and hugged her goodbye and she nodded. You walked up to Leon, the man who found you that thirteen years ago and smiled.  
"Well, try not to crash land in the Deep Jungle again, okay?" Leon commented, placing his hand on your shoulder.  
"I promise not to." You hugged him and he rolled his eyes, patting your back.  
You hugged everyone else and got into the Gummi ship, not knowing what exactly was going to happen next.


	9. 08

You sat in the Gummi Ship, staring straight at the Tower. To you, it looked untouched by time. But of course, you had dim memories of the Tower.  
"I can't do this." You muttered to yourself as you got ready to turn around the ship.  
Suddenly, an image of Cloud and Leon crossing their arms at you and glaring at you appeared. That's exactly what they would do the moment you came back and told them you couldn't go back home. And after that, they would come along with you and force to go.

You took a huge breath and flew to the Tower's platform for ships. It took you a long time to actually get the Gummi ship's doors open as you were arguing with yourself whether to go through with it or not.

You poked your head out of the doorway and looked around for anyone familiar. No one you knew was out on the platform so you booked it to the doors into the Tower.  
"I'm sorry Miss; residents are only permitted at this entrance. You will have to take the visitor doors on the path on the right."  
You ignored the guards and looked at the glass sphere in front of you. You lifted your hand to the sphere and wondered if they kept you in the data base that long.  
It was worth a shot though.

You placed your hand on the glass sphere and watched the light glow under your hand. On the wall opposite the doors appeared your picture, your name and access granted.  
The two guards stared at the picture, each other and then at you.  
"No way... You're dead." One guard mumbled. The other guard just stared at you with his mouth agape. "Welcome home."  
You weakly smiled and walked through the open doors.

-_-_-_-  
You wandered around the ship, the memories suddenly coming back to you. You could vividly remember all the days you and Riku sneaked off from work to just spend some quality time together or when you and Sora sneaked off work to go pull a prank on the Captain.

You smiled as you walked by the bright blue vacant wall that had Sora, Riku, Kairi and your hand prints on it. The next blue wall came up and you saw two little plaques hanging on the wall. You inched closer and closer to them, noticing that the first one was a picture of you with your name underneath and your rank. The other picture was, of course, of Sora. You started to cry as you saw Sora smiling goofily in his picture and it reminded you that you were the one that killed him.

"Mommy! Look! Someone left this on the ground!" A little girl exclaimed to her mother.  
You looked down the hall to see a little girl who was no older than three years old, with bright red hair and a yellow sun dress on. Her mother appeared from behind the corner and bent down to pick up whatever it was the girl had in her hand.  
"Very interesting Ella."  
The woman was tall, slim and had red hair that flowed down her back to her waist. It was placed back carefully with a blue head band that matched the dress she wore. The little girl looked towards your direction and she had the most beautiful eyes you ever seen besides...

"No..." You trailed off.  
The aqua eyes of Riku's.  
The lady looked down the hallway as well and noticed you so you gave a short wave. She smiled politely and you wiped your eyes, hoping not to embarrass yourself.  
"Kairi?" You finally managed to ask. The lady walked closer to you and had that look in her eye like she met you before somewhere. "It's me Kairi."  
Her eyes widened and she let out a little gasp. She threw her arms around you and pulled away, tears streaming down her cheeks.  
"You're... You're alive!" You sadly nodded and she wiped her tears away quickly. "This is amazing!"

You looked down at the little girl who was looking at her mother with concern.  
"What's wrong Mommy?"  
Kairi picked up her daughter and held in front of you.  
"Ella, this is your... aunt."  
"Nice to meet you Aunt. My name's Ella." The little girl stuck out her hand and you shook it happily. Kairi placed her daughter back on the floor and smiled at you.  
"Wait until Riku finds out you're okay."  
You shook your head quickly and Kairi questioned the response.

"Ella, she looks a lot like you, except she has Riku's eyes." You said slowly. Kairi started to cry again but you didn't exactly mean for that to happen.  
"I loved Sora so much. And Riku loved you just the same. But when we both thought you were dead, it was too much. We didn't date for the longest time, thinking that you two may have still been alive. But after a long time, we got married... and Ella was born... and I'm so sorry." She mumbled.  
She hugged you and buried her face into your shoulder. You pulled her off of you slowly and smiled.  
"No, Kairi, I'm glad you moved on. I wouldn't want you to be miserable your whole life. And Ella is a beautiful little girl. She's perfect. So I'm glad that you did move on."  
Tears kept rolling down Kairi's cheeks and Ella looked upset.  
"Mommy, don't cry." She said, tugging on Kairi's dress.  
Kairi wiped her eyes again and stood up straighter.  
"Right, we're going to be late Ella." She picked up her daughter and looked at you. "Riku will be in the flight deck. You should still be saved in there."  
You nodded, knowing exactly what she meant and walked towards the flight deck, deciding whether one emotional reunion would be enough for that day.

-_-_-_-  
You placed your hand on the smaller glass sphere and the doors flew open. You stepped inside and at once, everyone was looking at you; you being out of uniform. You ignored all the whispers, focusing on the man with silver hair in the blue uniform that Captain Rufus use to wear. He turned around and looked straight at you.  
"How did you get in here? This area is only for crew."  
"I am part of the crew." You whispered.  
He circled you twice and looked at you. He looked into your eyes and he looked at you as if he had seen a ghost. He started breathing heavily, as if it was a dream. You smiled a little and he hugged you.

"Oh my god! You're alive..."  
He pulled away but you didn't want him to.  
"Yeah, I've been in Hollow Bastion."  
He smiled and led you out of the flight deck.  
"I saw her. She's really pretty." You suddenly said, dreamily.  
"Who?"  
"Ella." Riku's eyes saddened and you knew that would happen. He opened his mouth to say something but you smiled at him. "Listen, I'm not mad. I'm actually happy you two moved on. I wouldn't want you guys to live through all that."

"What happened? Why were you gone that long?" He opened the door to his office and let you in, closing the door behind him.  
"I crashed in the Deep Jungle. Called for help and Leon found me there. Then, I lived there for the rest of the time. But what happened after..." You paused, trying not to cry, "We... crashed?"  
"When you and Sora collided, everyone was in a panic. I tried to go after you two but Captain Rufus told Goofy and Donald to get me into the emergency vessel with Kairi and the King. Sora was dead, so they couldn't risk anyone else of the Keyblade wielders." He looked straight at you and frowned. "We were left in Disney Castle for a couple years until some scavengers could find your guys' bodies."  
"They didn't find them." You finished.

"We came back three years later where Captain Rufus left his position for me." Riku frowned again and you frowned in response, not knowing why he was upset. "I couldn't leave the Tower to search for you myself."  
You nodded and stood up. You went to the door and threw it open. You couldn't take any more of this emotional reunion. Kairi was too much and now Riku was just killing you.  
"I have to go. The guys in Hollow Bastion are waiting for my return. It's been a great visit..." Your voice strained. You quickly ran out of the room and down the halls, back to your Gummi ship.  
"Wait!" Riku called after you. You ignored his calls and kept running.


	10. 09

You were driving aimlessly. Tears blurred your vision and you had no intent of going back to Hollow Bastion or to the Tower. You wiped your tears and looked at the water on the back of your hand. This infuriated you and you dried your hand quickly on your pants.

Images of Sora messing around and being goofy popped in your head. You jerked the Gummi ship around and drove straight to the Deep Jungle. Once you landed, you ran out and knelt next to the tree trunk you were at thirteen years ago. You searched for the locket, hoping it was still there but it was nowhere to be found.

You slammed your closed fists on the ground in frustration and cried uncontrollably.  
"How could this happen?" You shouted.  
"How could what happen?" Someone asked.  
You jumped at the sound of the voice and turned around to see a man standing there. He had long, spiky brown hair with nothing on but a linen cloth around his waist. Around his neck was the golden locket you thought was gone.

"Hey! That's not yours!"  
You yanked the locket off of his neck and held it tight in your hands.  
"Whose is it then?" The man asked.  
"Sora's!"  
The man looked at the tree stump where the knife still hung, rusting with the time.  
"Isn't he dead?"  
You glared at him, "Yes, he is."  
"Then, finder's keeper, loser's weeper." The man said.  
He snatched the locket out of your hand and placed it around his neck again. He smiled proudly and you pulled out your gun.  
"I'm not in the mood for games. Give me back the locket!" You demanded.  
"You know you're not the violent type." He commented.  
Tears flowed down your cheeks.  
"You don't know me! Okay? No one knows who I am anymore!"  
"No, I'm pretty sure I know you."  
"No, you don't!"

The man crossed his arms and smiled.  
"Are you sure?"  
"Where did I use to live?" You barked at him, cocking your gun.  
The man tapped his chin lightly and smiled, snapping his fingers.  
"Twilight Town, then Destiny Island and lastly the Tower."  
You lowered the gun slightly and looked at him. An image flashed in your mind and it was Sora. Your eye brows furrowed and you felt dizzy, dropping your gun.  
"Sora..."  
You fainted and Sora sprang to catch you.


	11. 10

You woke up, looking straight at a lady with brown hair, brown eyes and a jungle dress that was a burgundy color.  
"You're awake! That's great!" The lady exclaimed.  
"Who are you?" You asked.  
"My name is Jane." The lady introduced herself. "Tarzan and Sora should be back soon. They've gone to get food."  
You looked at her like she was crazy, mentioning Sora but you nodded and she smiled, leaving the room. You sat up and felt something fall against your chest. You placed your hand to your neck and felt your locket. You opened it and saw the two pictures. They were a little faded but they still were visible, which made you smile.

Just on schedule, Sora and Tarzan came swinging into the house.  
"Hey! Welcome back!" Sora said happily.  
"Sora..." You said quietly.  
Tarzan looked at the two of you and smiled.  
"I'll leave you two alone."  
"You're dead..." You muttered. "This can't be real."  
"I guess I have a lot to explain, huh?" You nodded and Sora stared at your locket. "You have some things to explain too."  
You touched your locket and took a big breath, nodding reluctantly.

-_-_-_-  
Sora rubbed his hands together, pacing back and forth in front of you. "Where to start, where to start..." He snapped his fingers which startled you. "So let's go back when we crashed here!" You nodded and Sora stopped pacing for a moment to look at you. "You were still knocked out from us colliding but my ship caught on fire quickly so I had to get out. I went to get you out of your ship but you were stuck. I noticed on your screen that we were in the Deep Jungle and I knew Jane and Tarzan lived here. So I tried to get help to get you out. When I came back, you were gone."  
"You were alive, and I left you..." You said slowly to yourself.

"It's okay though! I've lived a great life here." He answered quickly to reassure you.  
You looked at the ground and slowly sat down, cradling your knees to your chest. You slowly rocked back and forth, upset about the past thirteen years. "So what happened to you?" Sora asked, sitting down next to you.  
"Umm... I woke up and got myself out of my ship. I called for help and Leon-"  
"Leon?" Sora interrupted.  
"Mm-hmm."  
"Sorry, continue." He responded, holding up his hands.  
"Leon took me to Hollow Bastion, where I've lived ever since."  
"Did you ever go back to The Tower?"  
You wiped away an oncoming tear and slowly nodded.

"How are Kairi and Riku?" He asked anxiously.  
"They're great... But umm..." You started.  
"But umm what?" Sora asked, fear quivering in his voice.  
"They're married."  
"To each other?" You nodded and Sora nodded too, trying not to look sad. "That's good."  
"And they have a daughter."  
"Oh." You both sat in silence which made you grow more upset. After about ten minutes, Sora finally spoke up. "We should go see them." Sora suggested.  
"Are you sure?" Sora nodded cheerfully and stood up, pulling you up with him. "Maybe we should get you some new clothes though."

Sora looked down at his linen cloth and smiled.  
"What? I like it!"  
You rolled your eyes.  
It was Sora all right. Still that little kid at heart.  
"Where are we going to get new clothes?"  
"Want to visit some friends?"


	12. 11

You landed the Gummi Ship in Hollow Bastion while Sora looked around curiously.  
"This place has changed a lot."  
"It's what happens when you disappear for thirteen years." You mumbled carelessly.  
Sora smiled a little at you and followed you into your house.

Your house, which was actually Leon's that held the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee, the three kids, and you, was so big that Sora gazed in awe.  
"Who lives here?"  
"All of us."  
"Wow." Sora whispered.  
You grinned and opened the front door which naturally caused everyone in the house to get into a fighting stance.

Once they saw you, they got out of their stances.  
"Expecting someone?" You jokingly asked.  
"Geez!" Yuffie shouted. "We thought you were someone else."  
"That being?"  
Yuffie looked at Cloud and Cloud frowned.  
"No one. Don't worry about it." Cloud answered.  
"Who's your friend?" Tifa asked, noticing Sora.

Of course, all of them hadn't heard from Sora for a long time and you didn't tell them that you were once his friend. You never met them when you were friends with Sora, Riku, Kairi, Donald and Goofy. They didn't know you existed either but the day Leon found you at the Deep Jungle, you became part of their lives and Sora's absence was partially forgotten.  
_"Hey. Do any of you ever wonder what happened to Sora?" Yuffie asked everyone as we were all enjoying our dinner.  
Cloud shrugged and looked over at you; you were playing as if you didn't know who he was.  
"Who is Sora?" A seven year old Zack asked.  
"He's one of our friends." Aerith answered.  
Zack looked at you and you shrugged, confirming Cloud's questioning if you did or didn't know Sora. _

"It's m-" Sora started but you slapped your hand over his mouth.  
"This is one of my old friends from the Deep Jungle."  
"You did go to the Deep Jungle!" Leon shouted in triumph from the table, playing cards with the three kids.  
You smiled at him and then looked at Sora, shaking your head slowly. Sora understood that you didn't want any of them to know that he was alive.

"Leon, we need to borrow some of your old clothes."  
Leon looked at Sora and laughed a little.  
"No problem. There are some clothes in my closet."  
You quickly sprang off to Leon's room so that the guys wouldn't have to spend too much time with Sora.

Sora stood awkwardly at the door and he smiled at Yuffie. She smiled back and went back to messing with her shurikens. Sora looked at the three kids, who were staring at him, not paying attention to how badly Leon was beating them.  
"You're from the Deep Jungle?" Zack finally blurted.  
"Yep." Sora answered happily.  
"What's it like there?"  
"Uh... It's wet."  
Tifa laughed a little and Sora looked at her as she cooked some dinner. Sora found Aerith and Cloud sitting on the couch talking to one another about something. Sora looked around for Cid and Merlin, but quickly assumed they were in a lab or something, probably arguing.

"Okay! Here you go." You said, emerging back into the room with new clothes.  
It was Leon's old black jeans, and his white shirt. You also grabbed a pair of Leon's old boots, which you thought would fit Sora's big feet.

Sora looked at the clothes and smiled, remembering them from when he was younger and saw Leon wearing it. He looked back at Leon, who was still wearing the same attire, he just got older. Sora took the clothes and you lead him to your room so he could change.

You sat outside the door, literally, and waited. Finally, Sora came out, looking a lot like Leon did back in his younger days.  
"Wow, Sora."  
"I look like Leon, don't I?"  
"A tad."  
Sora shrugged and pulled at his long locks of brown spiky hair.  
"What about this?"  
"I'll get Aerith to cut it."  
Sora grinned and you lead him out where you asked Aerith to cut his hair.

-_-_-_-  
"You know, you look a lot like one of our old friends." Yuffie said as she examined Sora at dinner.  
"Who?" Sora asked, knowing what she was going to say.  
"His name was Sora." Cid answered for Yuffie.  
"Never comes around anymore." Yuffie complained.  
"His probably very busy." Tifa said, trying to help out Sora's cause.  
"I heard he died." Sora whispered.  
You glared at him but no one else did hear him.  
"What?" Cid asked, cupping his hand to his ear.  
"Never heard of him."  
Cid nodded and ate the rest of his meal and patted his stomach, which meant he was content.  
"Guys..." You mumbled, pushing your plate away from you.  
Everyone looked at you, ready for what you were going to say. You were kind of tired lying to your family for these thirteen years so you were finally going to say what you needed to.  
"I knew who Sora was."  
"You did?" Yuffie asked.  
"Yeah, I was one of his friends for the longest time. But there was a war..."  
"I heard about that." Leon muttered. "King Mickey told me that a lot of people died that day."

"Sora was one of them." You muttered. Yuffie stared in horror and Cid's jaw dropped open. Aerith and Tifa looked at each other while Leon and Cloud looked deeply upset. Merlin took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes in disbelief. "Or so I thought."  
Cloud looked at Sora but Aerith beat him to the chase. She stood up and walked over to him, hugging him tightly.

"Hi Aerith." Sora mumbled.  
"Sora, where have you been all of these years?" Cloud asked.  
"Dead." Sora answered, laughing a little.  
"I left him in the Deep Jungle." You said, while Leon stared at you. "It was an accident. We crashed into each other and when I woke up, Sora was gone. I thought he was dead."  
You started to tear up a little thinking about that and Cloud patted your shoulder.  
"It's okay now. He's safe and that's all that matters." Tifa said softly.  
"Now, we're going to visit Riku and Kairi."  
"That's who you went to visit before, right?" Merlin asked you.  
You nodded sadly and Zack grinned.  
"You say Riku's name in your sleep a lot."  
"Zack!" Tifa shouted.  
You laughed as Tifa scowled Zack. Sora laughed too which made Zack's cheeks to turn crimson in embarrassment.


	13. 12

Sora sat in the co-pilot seat of the Gummi Ship, staring straight at the Tower. You turned to look at him and saw the panic in his eyes.  
"Are you sure you want to do this Sora?"  
"Let's go back. They can still think I'm dead." Sora responded. You nodded and got ready to turn the ship but suddenly, Sora grabbed your arm. "Just go." He muttered while shutting his eyes and taking a huge breath.

You landed the ship on the platform and you stepped out, not caring about anything. Sora poked his head and looked around, remembering everything from his days there. You took the path to the left, which was only for residents of the ship. Visitors had to take the path to the right.  
"Sorry, but you will have to take your friend to the visitors' side." The guard said to you.  
You looked at Sora and he nodded, knowing what to do. He glanced at you briefly and walked over to the glass sphere. He looked all around it, getting low to look at the bottom of the sphere and smiled. He looked at his hand and wiggled his fingers before putting it on the sphere. The multi-colors of the sphere read his hand and on the wall, appeared the old picture of Sora, his name, and the access granted.  
"This job is getting too much for me." The guard said to his friend.  
"I know. People coming from the dead and everything," The other muttered.  
The doors opened which made Sora sprint into it and you followed behind him.

"It's just as I remember it."  
Sora walked over to the walls and touched them, smiling. He noticed the two pictures that you noticed as well and walked over to them and frowned.  
"Would you like to see Kairi or Riku first?"  
"Riku!" Sora said quickly. "Please?"  
You smiled and nodded. You knew why he wanted to see Riku first. You didn't want to see Riku first because you knew that it would was hard for you to see the guy you loved. So Sora seeing Kairi could hurt him a lot. Save the worst for last.

-_-_-_-  
You placed your hand on the glass sphere and the doors flew open. You walked in, expecting Sora to follow, but he just stood there, looking at you.  
"Come on." You said.  
"I don't know."  
"Sora, I've never seen you nervous about anything."  
Sora smiled and nodded, knowing it was true.

"Is that Sora?" Everyone whispered.  
"It can't be." Others replied.  
Sora and you walked side by side, straight towards Riku who was bossing people around. He turned around as one of his assistants pointed you out.  
"You know you can't bring visitors in here." Riku said sternly to you as he glared at Sora.  
"I know, only crew." You mumbled, remembering the rules of Captain Rufus Shinra.  
"Hi Riku!" Sora said happily.  
Riku looked at him like he was crazy and you picked your head up a little to smile at Sora. Riku didn't like you smiling at this other guy and stood up straighter than he was and frowned.  
"It's Captain Riku." You whispered to Sora.  
"Oh sorry. Hello _Captain_ Riku." Sora remarked sarcastically.  
You giggled a little, which made Sora laugh too and Riku wasn't pleased.  
"I'm sorry, sir, but you're going to have to leave immediately." Riku said coldly.  
"What if I'm part of the crew?" Sora asked quickly.  
Riku looked at you, then Sora, and Riku was thinking of something. "But you are not."  
"Wanna bet?" Sora asked loudly.

Riku looked at you and you shrugged. Riku followed Sora up to a glass sphere and Sora did the same thing, moving his fingers and smiled. He put his hand on the sphere and Riku rolled his eyes while waiting for the picture.

The picture of Sora showed up and Riku stared in disbelief as Sora stepped back.  
"S-Sora? You're alive too?"  
"Yes, sir. Happy, huh?"  
Riku shook his head and laughed a little.  
"It's been a long week."  
"Where do we find Kairi?" Sora finally decided to ask.  
"She's probably at the playground with Ella. I need to sit down."  
Riku walked away and you smiled at Sora.  
"One down, one to go."

-_-_-_-  
You arrived at the playground, watching all the kids run around having the time of their lives. You searched the crowd of children for the red headed girl and immediately noticed her at the top of the slide.  
"Mommy, watch!" She shouted over the yells of the other kids.  
"Is that her?" Sora asked, spotting her as well.  
"That's Ella." You replied.  
She sped down the slide and at the bottom, she found you. Ella waved frantically and ran towards you.  
"Hi Aunt!"  
"Hello Ella. What have you been up to?"  
"Well, I guess nothin'."  
You smiled at her and she smiled back at you, and then looked at Sora.  
"Hello mister. I'm Ella." She shot her hand out and Sora smiled, shaking her hand.  
"My name's Sora."  
"I've heard your name before." Ella commented.  
"Ella? Ella!" Kairi yelled. Ella spun around and waved at her mother, who ran over. "Don't do that to me. Scared me half-" She looked at you and Sora. "Hi." She said quietly.

Sora smiled and Kairi looked at him, trying to think of something.  
"You must be Kairi."  
"Yes." She stared at him and frowned. "Do I know you?"  
Ella was going to tell her mom that his name was Sora but you put your finger to your lips. She got the hint instantly and smiled, knowing she knew a secret.  
"Sorry I'm late." Sora smiled and Kairi had the biggest grin.  
"Sora!" She flew forward, hugging him tightly. Tears started to stream down Kairi's cheeks and Sora held her close to him. "I can't believe you're here." She mumbled between her sobs.

Ella looked up at her mom, not knowing why she was sad.  
"Ella, come show me around the playground." You said to her.  
She glanced at her mom but Kairi was too busy crying so Ella nodded, taking your hand.


	14. 13

"Is King Mickey still... you know," Sora asked, as you, Riku, Kairi, Ella and him were walking to the extra rooms where you and Sora would be staying at.  
"Yes, he's alive and well." Riku answered, "And I informed him that she was alive." He looked at you.  
"So, he's coming?" Sora anxiously asked.  
"He should be here today, actually." Kairi commented as she picked up Ella.

Ella smiled at you and you grinned foolishly at the little girl. She reminded you a lot of Marlene, although Ella seemed to talk a lot more than Marlene. Kairi noticed you and grinned too.  
"Here." She passed Ella over to you and you were surprised how light the girl was. "Did you have any kids?"  
"Ha, no." Kairi, Sora, and Riku all smiled. "I did have to babysit the kids at Hollow Bastion."  
"Kids?" Riku asked, a little surprised.  
"There are three kids: Zack, Marlene, and Denzel."

-_-_-_-  
You, Sora, Riku, Kairi, and Ella were all walking to the platform where you heard one of Riku's assistants tell you that King Mickey was coming soon. You turned the corner to the doors of the Tower and saw five people who you were looking forward to see since the long years past.  
"Donald!" You shouted in excitement.  
Donald, Goofy, King Mickey, Queen Minnie, and Daisy all turned to you and beamed.

Sora sprinted past you, running straight for Donald and Goofy. You quickly followed behind him, going for Minnie and Daisy. You saw Sora, Goofy, and Donald collide and soon, Queen Minnie and Daisy were suffocating you.  
"Trying not... to be..." You gasped in pain, "rude or anything... but I can't... breathe." Minnie and Daisy let go of you and laughed.  
"Sorry, sweetie," Minnie said.  
"My, you're big." Daisy added in.  
"I'm thirty now," you said to Daisy, "and maybe sweetie doesn't fit anymore." You said to Minnie. They both laughed again and looked at Sora.

Donald and Goofy tackled you in the moment you weren't paying attention but you had to laugh with them. You heard Sora having the same problem of not being able to breathe over with Queen Minnie and Daisy.  
"Where've you been?" Goofy asked.  
"Hollow Bastion," you answered nonchalantly.  
King Mickey smiled at you and Sora and you both walked towards him.  
"Your majesty," you and Sora said at the same time.  
You grinned at Sora and you both bowed to the king.

"It's good to have the two of you back."  
"It's good to be back." Sora answered.  
He looked over at you and you faked smiled, kind of spacing out of the conversation.

"Aw, you're getting big Miss Ella."  
"Thank you, Queen Minnie." Ella answered in her small voice.  
You turned around and saw Daisy and Minnie with Kairi and Ella, while Donald and Goofy were talking with Riku.

"Would you all be staying long enough for dinner?" Kairi asked, taking Ella's hand.  
"We would love to." Queen Minnie answered for everyone.  
Sora's eyes lit up and you thought you saw some drool come from his mouth.  
"Food..."  
"You got food in the Deep Jungle." Riku snapped at Sora.  
"I know I did. But I sure do miss this food."  
Kairi smiled and led the way to the dining area, which you could remember clearly the day you disappeared.

-_-_-_-  
"'U o'ay?" Sora asked; his mouth filled with food.  
You stared up blankly while the others all looked at you for an answer.  
"I'm fine. Why?"  
"'U..." Sora swallowed what he had in his mouth, "You haven't said a word since we got here."  
"I'm talking now, aren't I?"  
"It's true. You haven't said a lot." Donald said, not looking at you.  
You rolled your eyes and stood up.  
"Excuse me, I'll be back."  
Sora looked at Riku and they both watched you leave.

Tears rolled down your cheek. Everything you thought would happen didn't occur best to your plans. You thought that Riku would have maybe waited for you. But no, he got married, to your best friend. To make matters worse, they have a kid.  
To sum it up, you were upset; very upset.

You turned the corner sharply and ran into someone who was running down the other corridor. You both slammed into the ground and it sort of hurt that you started to cry more. The other person stood up quickly and adjusted his helmet before sticking out his hand to help you up.  
"I'm very sorry about that. I'm sort of in a hur-" The man stopped abruptly and you looked up at him.  
"Vincent?"


	15. 14

Vincent gleamed in joy and pulled you up, hugging you tightly. His yellow eyes twinkled intently and he smelt of cinnamon, which made you smile as you hugged him. His black hair which was as long as you remembered it and he let go of you a little to talk to you.  
"I heard you were here but..."  
"It's nice to see you too."  
Vincent released you and grinned happily.

"Where have you been? It's been a really long time."  
"Yes, it has." You mumbled.  
"Are you busy right now? Do you want to catch some dinner?"  
You grinned a little but shook your head.  
"I already ate, but thank you."  
"All right, see you around." He seemed a little hesitant but you nodded.  
"Bye Vincent."  
Vincent waved back at you and went off to get his dinner.

You sat up against the wall and thought about Riku and Vincent. Anger soon overwhelmed you and you stood up angrily. You walked around the Tower, taking the elevator down, and you saw the two pictures of Sora and you near the entrance. You glared at the pictures and suddenly punched the wall.  
Unfortunately, the wall was made of metal and your hand wasn't going to break the wall. The wall ended up breaking your hand. You grabbed your hand, tears flowing out of your eyes.  
"Shit." You mumbled as you cradled your hand.

"That wasn't the smartest thing to do." You whipped around and saw Riku, who was smiling a little. He grabbed your broken hand and examined your fingers. "Why'd you do that?"  
"I was a tad bit angry."  
"I know that. Then, you wouldn't have punched the wall."  
"Then, why'd you ask?" You asked coldly.  
Riku pulled on your fingers to make them straight and you gasped in pain. You cried a little more and Riku smiled, wiping your tears with his thumb.  
"Come on, I'll take you to the medical wing."

He walked you to the medical wing, which was on the second floor, and it was actually small for a ship as big as the Tower.  
"Good evening, Captain." A nurse said.  
"Hello." He pulled you along and the nurse smiled politely at you. "Can you fix her up?" You held up your hand a little and the nurse gaped at it.  
"Oh my, what did you do?"  
"Punched a wall," You answered, looking at Riku angrily. He leaned against the wall and smiled at you which made you smile back.  
"OW!" You screamed.  
"Sorry, dear. We have to heal your fingers straight, not the way they are now." The nurse said to you. She gave you a shot glass of some clear liquid and smiled at you. "Drink that up and come back in an hour, we shall see how you do." She bandaged up your hand and nodded, leaving to take care of some others who came in.

"Wow, medicine sure has come a long way, hasn't it?" You asked, rubbing your hand.  
"I actually could have used my Keyblade to fix your hand."  
"Why didn't you?"  
"I wanted you to learn a lesson. Don't go off punching walls, especially the walls of my ship."  
You gave a fake laugh and glared at him. He put you through so much pain, physically and emotionally. You glanced up at him and looked down at your hand.

"Are you okay?" Riku asked, looking at your hand.  
"No, my hand is killing me!"  
"No, I mean, are you okay?"  
You looked into his eyes and more tears came flowing out against your will. You haven't cried this much since the year Sora 'died' and every night in Hollow Bastion, that mechanical voice would tell you that you killed Sora.  
"Don't cry. I hate to see you cry." Riku said softly.  
Riku pulled you into a hug and you cried your heart out on his shoulder. You didn't want to pull away. This was probably the closest you would ever be to Riku ever again.

You hung your head low but Riku put his finger under your chin to make you look up at him. He was upset. More tears fell down your cheek and Riku wiped them off again. He leaned in towards you and you closed your eyes. An image of Ella swept through your mind and you pulled away. Riku stared at you and you shook your head. You ran away and didn't look back.

-_-_-_-  
Sora looked at Donald and Goofy and nodded to leave him and Kairi alone for a while. Donald and Goofy immediately understood and walked away with King Mickey, Queen Minnie and Daisy.  
"Kairi, you okay?" Sora asked as he was walking next to her.  
Kairi was following her little girl to the playground.  
"Yes, I'm all right." Kairi smiled at Sora and looked back down at the floor.

The two walked in silence a little bit longer and Kairi smiled again.  
"Are you mad at me, Sora?"  
"Me? Mad at you? Are you sure you're okay?"  
"No, I'm serious." Kairi said, laughing a little. "Aren't you mad at me for not waiting? Aren't you mad at me for having a daughter? Aren't you mad at all?"  
"I was never mad at you. I'm not mad now either. And I will never be mad at you." Sora said, swinging his hands back and forth. "I mean, I was a little sad that you had a daughter but I realized she makes you happy. I like it when you're happy."  
Kairi hugged Sora and cried again.  
"I just said I liked it when you're happy! Don't cry!"  
Kairi laughed through her tears and nodded. She wiped away her tears and hugged him again, resting her head on his shoulder.  
"Sora, I love you. And I always will."  
She let go of Sora and ran after Ella, while Sora watched, smiling.  
He sighed a little and kicked his foot up.  
"I love you too Kairi."


	16. 15

Captain Riku stood in front of the screen in the flight deck, waiting for something.  
"I thought you told me he wanted to talk!" Riku shouted to no one in particular.  
"Sir, we're trying to get him online." Elena said sternly as she was watching everyone type into the computers.

"Captain, no need to yell at your employees, I'm here." Dreg's mechanical voice said over the screen. He still was not visible but he was there. "If I were them, I would quit. That's just me though."  
Riku glared at the screen and turned to Elena, wanting Dreg's face on the screen as well as his voice.  
"Get him on the screen!" Elena commanded of everyone else.

"So I hear that Sora and your girlfriend are alive." Dreg said which made Riku mad. "I actually knew they were both alive. I've been talking to your little girlfriend the past thirteen years. She's very emotional."  
"Shut up!" Riku shouted.  
Dreg laughed a little and his armored face showed up on the screen.  
"Apparently, so are you."  
"Shut up!" Riku shouted louder. "What do you want?"  
"Oh, just wanted to check up on Sora and the girl... But as I can see, they aren't there with you." Riku looked at Elena, who shrugged at the whereabouts of you and Sora. "Maybe it would have been better to wait for them, huh?"

"How..." Riku started.  
"I'll be in contact." Dreg said happily, laughing as the screen went black.  
Riku ripped his hat off his head and threw it at the screen and walked away angrily.

-_-_-_-  
You sulked in the corner of the ship, crying into your knees.  
"Hey, are you all right?"  
You looked up and saw Vincent kneeling in front of you. He looked at you sadly and pushed his long hair out of his face.  
"No..." You mumbled. "I can't believe everything that has happened. I'm..."  
"Shh..." Vincent said, putting his finger to your lips. "Come on, you need something to drink." You looked at him and he smiled, holding his hand out to help you up. You let him help you up but that as far as it was going to go.  
"No, Vincent... I'm leaving. And I don't want anyone to find me..."  
"What about Riku and Sora?"  
"They'll be fine without me," You said as you wiped the tears off your face.

"What about me?" Vincent said sadly.  
You looked at him and stood up. He looked at your hand questioningly, but you just smiled. You hugged him and looked up at him. You held his face and kissed him on the cheek.  
"Vincent, you're the best friend a person could ask for..."  
"But you don't want anything more." Vincent finished.  
"I'm sorry."  
Vincent nodded and hugged you one last time before he walked away. You frowned at what just happened but took a breath, ready to leave everything behind.

You walked around the corner and saw Sora, someone you didn't really want to see at that moment. You quickly turned back around the corner but Sora already was at your side.  
"Were you just talking to Vincent?" Sora asked.  
"Yes."  
"And?"  
"And what?" You asked, confused by Sora's question.  
"Well, Vincent has been in love with you since we moved here."  
"I know," You mumbled, kicking your foot and looking down. "I told him I didn't want to be anything more than friends."  
"Ouch," Sora stuck his hands in his pockets and smiled at your hand. "What happened to your hand, by the way?"  
"Punched a wall and proud of it," You said, laughing.  
Sora just rolled his eyes and walked along with you in silence.

"Psst."  
You looked at Sora and he looked at you.  
"What?" Sora asked.  
"That wasn't me."  
"Psst."  
You noticed on the screen closest to you, there was an armored face whispering to you and Sora. You walked closer to the screen and saw Dreg. You immediately realized that he was that mechanical voice that has been talking to you the past thirteen years. He was the one who told you, you killed Sora and that everyone would be mad at you for it.  
"What do you want Dreg?" Sora asked angrily.  
"I've noticed how unhappy you two are and I'd like to help."


	17. 16

"Captain!" Elena's voice sounded over the intercom. "You're needed on the flight deck immediately!"  
Riku, who was seated and had Ella on his lap, looked at Kairi, and passed Ella to her. Kairi held her daughter close to her and looked at Riku with a concerned look. Riku got up and ran as quickly as he could to the flight deck where Elena was yelling at the crew.  
"Sir! Dreg is online." Riku looked at her, confused by why Dreg wanted to talk again. "He's not talking to us, sir. He's talking to someone else on the ship."  
"Who?"  
"We're not sure. But we're working on it."

-_-_-_-  
"I've come across a time machine. It can take you back as far as you want." Dreg said to you and Sora.  
"Why are you helping us?"  
"Well, when you two died, it changed my future as well."  
"What happened to your future? You seem fine to me. You're winning a war after all." Sora pointed out.  
"Winning isn't everything, Sora."

-_-_-_-  
"Sora?" Riku asked, staring at the screen, which was blank to him. He couldn't hear anything you and Sora were saying, only what Dreg was saying to you.  
"I had a really good friend. But when you two died, she went out to look for you. She died as well."  
There was silence.  
"No! She wasn't my girlfriend!"  
More silence.  
"Stop laughing! Do you want my help or not?"  
"Find where Sora is!" Riku commanded. Elena looked at the crew. "NOW!" Riku ran out the doors, hoping that if he was fast enough, he could find the two of you.

-_-_-_-  
"So why are you helping us again? I'm a little confused." You said, smiling at Dreg, arms folded.  
"You were my friend once." Dreg mumbled.  
"What are you talking about?" You asked, unfolding your arms. Dreg looked around his ship and laughed. There was a clicking sound and Dreg's laugh became more realistic and less mechanical. "I know that laugh." You mumbled.  
"You remember me yet?" The new voice asked.  
"I know you... I know you." You rambled, thinking really hard about the voice.  
"Of course, you understand that I can't reveal my identity while you're on your ship. But come to mine and I can give you more information about the time machine..."

You had a strange feeling that someone was watching you so you quickly whipped around. No one was there so you looked back at the screen with Dreg.  
"How do we get to your ship?"  
"What?" Sora asked, staring at you with extreme shock.  
"Go to your Gummi ship. One of my men will escort you to my ship." Dreg said.  
You quickly darted away from the screen while Sora watched. He snapped back into reality and ran after you.

"What do you think you're doing?" Sora shouted.  
"I'm going to find out who Dreg is!"  
"He's Dreg!" Sora said, running a little bit ahead of you.  
"No! I know him. I do know him. I can't remember where from. Maybe a dream or something, but I know him." Sora grabbed your arm and stopped, which jerked you to a halt.  
"Well, you're not going by yourself."  
"You're coming too?"  
"It'd be another adventure." Sora said, smiling. "And everyone knows I haven't had one in a long time." You laughed and nodded, waiting for the sliding door to open.

You both climbed into your Gummi ship and you noticed Riku running out to the platform.  
"Um, time to go Sora. You drive." You commanded. Sora nodded and ran to the pilot seat while you sat down in the doorway of the Gummi ship.  
"Sora!" Riku said. He frowned the moment he saw you and opened his mouth to yell your name too. You waved at Riku and shut the door to the Gummi ship as Sora started to take off.

-_-_-_-  
"I haven't told Riku yet. It hasn't exactly been a good time since Sora and... Well, you know, they've come back."  
"Kairi, you're going to have to tell him." Queen Minnie said sincerely.  
"It can wait a bit longer." Kairi said, rubbing her stomach.


	18. 17

Sora looked at you for the hundredth time in ten minutes, clearly anxious. You and Sora were seated outside of Dreg's office for at least twenty minutes.  
Riku immediately sent his men after you, trying to find out where Dreg was located. However, Dreg's men were also sent out to distract and Riku did not find where you were.

You looked at the two armored guards who stood outside Dreg's office. Every single one of Dreg's crew was in armor, so those many men could have once been your friends.  
"You can go in now." A guard said to the two of you.  
You nodded and stood up quickly, leaving Sora behind so you could find out who this mystery Dreg was. In the room, you saw Dreg surrounded by his men, who were shouting things at him.

"Get out everyone. My friends have arrived." Dreg's mechanical voice commanded of his men. They all looked at each other and nodded, leaving you and Dreg in the room. You turned around and saw Sora being dragged into the room.  
"Get off me!" Sora said, pulling his arm back from the guard. "I was going."  
"Close the door." Dreg said to his guard. You watched as the guard closed the door and took a deep breath.  
"Who are you?"  
"In good time, little one,"  
"No now!" You shouted.  
Dreg's mechanical voice laughed and he hit a button on his remote.

"On the screen behind you, you will see a map of all the worlds I have made in the past years." You and Sora turned around to see all the worlds and saw four stars on four different worlds. "As you will notice, there are four worlds with stars on them." Sora stepped towards the map and looked at the worlds.  
"Destiny Islands," Sora muttered as he reached up for his world. You also went to the map to observe the other three worlds.  
"Why these four worlds?" You asked.  
"In these four worlds, you both started your adventure a long time ago. This is where you will start this time." You looked at your home, Twilight Town, then at Traverse Town. You didn't really remember what you did in Traverse Town but you did go there. Last was Hollow Bastion, where you lived for a while. "The time machine is made of many different parts." Dreg looked down at his remote and hit a button again. "I have coordinated the parts of the remaining four parts in Destiny Islands, Twilight Town, Hollow Bastion, and Traverse Town. You will have to retrieve the parts to get into the past."

"Where will they be?" Sora asked.  
"Destiny Islands is where you start. Unknown to him, your friend holds the part. Next will be Twilight Town, where you rest. Starting there will probably be the best. In Traverse Town you both awoke. The part lays in something that broke. Lastly, in Hollow Bastion, a second home. It lays with Yuffie and where she roams."  
"I have no time for rhymes!" You shouted. "Who are you?"  
Dreg hit two buttons and the screen you and Sora were looking at disappeared. You both turned around to see Dreg's helmet sitting on his desk and Sora stared in shock.  
"No way..." You muttered.

-_-_-  
"Where'd the signal go?" Riku asked harshly.  
"I'm not sure sir." Elena responded as she typed furiously into the computer.  
Donald, Goofy and Mickey all looked at each other. They all heard everything Dreg had said to you and Sora.

"Elena! Prepare me a ship, immediately." Riku commanded. "Destiny Islands is where you start. Unknown to him, your friend holds the part. Next will be Twilight Town, where you rest. Starting there will probably be the best. In Traverse Town you both awoke. The part lays in something that broke. Lastly, in Hollow Bastion, a second home. It lays with Yuffie and where she roams." He mumbled.  
"Sir, we would like to accompany you." Donald and Goofy said as they came forward. Riku looked at Mickey for consent and Mickey nodded.  
"I need to make some preparations but I will meet the three of you in Hollow Bastion."  
Donald and Goofy saluted to their king and Riku smiled.


	19. 18

"No way..." You muttered. You looked at Sora and he was just as shocked as you. "Pete? Is that really you?"  
Pete laughed and stood up, his metal armor clanging.  
"You look very surprised. Was it really that much of a shock?" Pete asked.  
You and Sora nodded simultaneously and Pete frowned.  
"Where's Maleficent?" You asked. Pete turned around and you stepped forward, Sora hesitating a bit.  
"She's the one who died. She disappeared ten years ago, looking for you and Sora. I think she went into darkness again. I just haven't had the time to get her back again."  
You frowned and thought back about Maleficent. She was the one who got you away from Twilight Town and let you live with Sora and the gang.

"So, I don't get the riddle." Sora said.  
"Destiny Islands is where you start. Unknown to him, your friend holds the part. Next will be Twilight Town, where you rest. Starting there will probably be the best. In Traverse Town you both awoke. The part lays in something that broke. Lastly, in Hollow Bastion, a second home. It lays with Yuffie and where she roams." Pete repeated.  
"You definitely didn't come up with that on your own." You pointed out.  
"Actually I did."  
You frowned again and realized that maybe Pete had learned a lot in the past thirteen years.

"We have to go now." You said to Sora suddenly.  
"Why?"  
"Riku," Pete turned around quickly and saw that he didn't hide the screen of Riku's ship. Pete grinned as you glared at him.  
"It's a race. See who gets the pieces first. If Riku gets it, you will never get your true future."  
Sora quickly ran out the door, you following right behind him. You both dashed to the Gummi ship and you jumped into the driver's seat.  
"First is Destiny Islands," Sora said as he muttered the riddle to himself.  
"No, Riku will be going there also. Let's go to Traverse Town."  
"Right," Sora agreed. "In Traverse Town you both awoke. The part lays in something that broke."  
"What broke?" You asked as you had no idea what has happened there in the past years.  
"Who knows?"

-_-_-_-  
Riku looked around his world, everything so much different from what he remembered. He wandered around the streets, looking at all the kids that were playing blitzball. Donald and Goofy followed behind him and searched for anyone they could recognize.  
"Excuse me; do you know where to find Selphie?" Riku asked one of the elderly that sat in their yard.  
"Selphie?" The old woman asked the old man.  
"I remember, she's a teacher," The old man replied.  
"So she'll be at the school?" Donald asked.  
"Oh no, school's out for the summer." The old woman responded.  
"Do you know where she lives?" Riku questioned.  
"Hmm..." They both thought and frowned.

"Mom, Dad?" A young woman asked as she walked out to the yard. She looked at Riku, Donald, and Goofy. "Hello. May I help you?"  
"Selphie?" The lady, with her hair flipped out just like it was in her childhood, frowned.  
"Yes?"  
"It's me, Riku."  
"Riku?"


	20. 19

You and Sora climbed out of the Gummi Ship and you frowned.  
"He couldn't make this easy, could he?"  
Sora also frowned and ran his hand through his hair. Traverse Town seemed to have been totally destroyed in the thirteen years. Nothing was left. The shops were run to the ground; the town center was cracked down the middle, not just a crack but you had to get a running start and jump to get across; and no person was remaining in the town.  
"Shit." Sora muttered.  
You looked at him, a little surprised by his language but you smiled.  
"We can split up,"  
Sora nodded and you walked to the second district while Sora went to the the third.

-_-_-_-  
"Why haven't you visited? It's been nearly fifteen years. How's Kairi and Sora?" Selphie asked, completely excited by this surprise visit.  
"We're sorry. We've been very busy... well, I have." Riku answered. Tidus and Wakka smiled and nodded.  
"So did you and little brown head get married? You two were so cute." Tidus stated.  
"They didn't even go out when they were here, ya?" Wakka told his mates.  
"Kairi and I got married. We have a daughter."  
"A daughter?" Selphie sat up with excitement.  
"Her name is Ella."  
"What about Sora and brown head?" Tidus asked.  
"They went missing for thirteen years. Kairi and I thought they were dead. So, we went on." Selphie looked down and frowned.  
"They are okay though, ya?"  
"Yes, they just came to us maybe two weeks ago."  
"That's good!" Tidus said happily.  
"But what are you doing here? Not to be rude or anything," Selphie said. Goofy and Donald looked at Riku and he sighed.  
"I have to do something before Sora and... brown head do something they will regret."  
"We'll help you then," Selphie said, not even looking at Tidus and Wakka. Of course, they were just as willing to help.

-_-_-_-  
"What the hell? Where do we find this part? The more time we waste here, the more time Riku has to find the other parts!" You shouted.  
"Where did you wake up when you came here for the first time?" Sora asked.  
"I don't remember. I don't even remember that I fell asleep here." You muttered. "What about you?"  
"I woke up in an alley. Pluto found me." Sora answered.  
You walked past the town center, jumping over the huge crack and Sora watched. You walked over to what was remaining of a house and you looked at the wall. You kicked at the wall and it crumpled to the ground. You jumped back in surprise and Sora came running over to you, nearly falling into the crevasse. You looked into the broken house and you frowned. The house wasn't lighted but the sun showed you what was in the house.  
"I know this place." You mumbled.  
"This is the alley I woke up in." Sora muttered as well, as he looked past the house.  
"This is it! Let's go!" You shouted, jumping into the house. Sora also walked into the house.  
You screamed and Sora quickly went into the room you were in.


	21. 20

"Shit, shit, shit!" You shouted as you clambered behind a dresser. The huge heartless threw the dresser into a wall, splintering into a million pieces. You quickly ran underneath it and slid under a table. You searched through your pockets, looking for your gun. The heartless threw the table into the wall again and you rolled away from its hammer arm. You got up and ran away, looking in your empty gun holster. You realized it must have been in the Deep Jungle and your back up was in Hollow Bastion.

Sora came running in and saw the heartless. The thing was at least ten feet tall, with four arms. The first arm had a hammer while the one opposite of it had a knife like arm. The other two arms were normal heartless arms so they could grab the tables and other things you were hiding under.

Sora pulled out his keyblade and got into a fighting stance. The heartless, however, did not notice him and hacked at you with its knife arm. It sliced your arm and it knocked you down. You looked at your arm and it nearly sliced all the way through. You looked up at Sora and he looked horrified. The heartless still didn't see Sora and lifted its hammer arm high above its head, ready to slam it down on you.  
"No!" Sora shouted as he hit the heartless with his keyblade. The heartless roared and turned to him. Sora got ready to fight the heartless and the heartless went charging at him.

You stared hopelessly and stood up in pain. You ripped a part of your shirt and wrapped it around your arm, keeping it from bleeding more. You walked over to the door, while Sora fought with the heartless. The heartless must have noticed you though because he hit you with his hammer arm into a wall. You hit the wall hard and fell onto your knees. You stood up wearily and you felt something warm on the back of your head. You reached back and saw blood smeared across your hand.  
Sudden flashbacks of the Deep Jungle came back; you, searching for Sora in his ship, stumbling to that stump where you left your locket, and the blood that was on your hand from your cheek.  
You reached for your scarred cheek and pulled back, looking at the blood still on your hand from your head. You touched your head again and a puddle of blood was in your palm. You looked at Sora and saw him fighting aggressively with the heartless. The two of them started to get fuzzy and everything went black.

-_-_-_-  
Goofy and Donald watched as Riku, Selphie, Tidus and Wakka searched for this piece of the machine.  
"Do you see that Donald?" Goofy asked.  
Donald looked up at Goofy, a little confused.  
"What do you see?"  
"That." Goofy pointed to the group of adults and Donald smiled.  
"That's it Goofy!"

-_-_-_-  
"Shit. Shit. You have to be okay." Sora mumbled to you, thinking you were still out. "No. No. Shit."  
"Sora?" You asked weakly. Sora looked down, beaming.  
"Yeah, it's me." Sora looked around and placed you down slowly. "Are you alright? How are you feeling?"  
"My head hurts... a lot."  
"Yeah. It should feel better soon." You sat up a little and looked at your arms and legs. Your pant leg was soaked in blood and the cloth around your arm was covered in blood too. Your other arm was blood soaked but you didn't notice any cut, just a scar.

"What happened?"  
"You got knocked out... obviously. But... The heartless was bent on getting you, not me." Sora looked at your leg and you noticed how your pant was cut all the way up to your knee. You pulled it up and saw a scar running up your leg. "It attacked you while you were out. Broke your leg, cut your other leg, broke your arm and sliced it... multiple times."  
You laughed a little and Sora looked alarmed.  
"What happened to you?" Sora looked confused and you smiled again. "I'm kidding Sora."  
"We need to get out of here. There's more. I can hear them. That's what destroyed this town. Those heartless."

"No, we need the part. We need it." Suddenly, something appeared behind Sora. "Sora."  
Sora turned around quickly and in the crevasse, there was something glowing. He got up and ran to the crevasse and reached down to get it.  
There was a roar of another heartless not too far away.  
"Let's go." You said as you tried to stand up.  
Sora ran over to you and helped you as you two went back to the Gummi ship.


	22. 21

"Where are going next, sir?" Goofy asked as he held Wakka's blitzball in his lap, which was the machine part.  
Riku looked back at Goofy and Donald, wondering where you and Sora would head next.  
"Didn't she live in Twilight Town?" Donald asked.  
Riku turned a little to look at Donald and smiled.  
"Gawrsh, she's probably excited to go back."  
Riku's grin grew bigger and he nodded.  
"You're both right."

-_-_-_-  
"Let's go to Twilight Town!" You shouted with excitement.  
"Why?" Sora asked as he looked at your bloody condition. "I think we should get to Hollow Bastion so you can get a change of clothes and we can look for the part."  
"I always bring a back up."  
"Wait, what?"  
"This is my Gummi ship and I have extra clothes." You smiled at Sora and he rolled his eyes at you. You stood up and went to the back where you pulled out your brown bag. You pulled out a white shirt and a pair of jeans, almost the same outfit as Sora had. "I'm going to go to sleep. Twilight Town, okay?"  
"Yes ma'am." Sora shouted sarcastically, saluting you.  
You glared at him and went into the back seats, sitting against the window to sleep a bit.

You started to daze off and then, you started a weird dream.  
_"Hey." Zack said as you two were sitting at the bailey.  
"What's up, little man?"  
"Nothing really. I just had to get away from Marlene and Denzel."  
"Yeah, little siblings can do that I guess."  
You heard screams of Denzel and Marlene in the distance and you looked at Zack, who looked just as surprised. You both stood up and you dashed back to your house but Zack couldn't keep up.  
You turned the corner and ran right into a sword. You looked down at your stomach, the long, slender sword of Sephiroth's running straight through your body. You fell to your knees and looked up, seeing Aerith also on the ground. She smiled lightly at you and shut her eyes.  
"Aerith..." You mumbled.  
Sephiroth put his boot on your hip and pulled his sword out of your body. You coughed up some blood and looked around a little bit more. Marlene and Denzel surrounded Aerith and looked at you in horror.  
Zack turned the corner as well, but Sephiroth didn't touch him. Zack immediately saw you and bent down to you.  
"No."  
"Get your dad."  
"Mom!" Zack shouted as he ran to his mom's side. You stood up slowly and Sephiroth glared at you.  
"What do you think you're doing?" Sephiroth asked rudely.  
You pulled out your gun but Sephiroth stabbed you again and you dropped the gun. You coughed up more blood and you heard Marlene sobbing off to the side. Zack and Denzel picked up rocks and threw them at Sephiroth and he turned to them.  
"Don't touch them!" You whispered as you stumbled forward and fell on him. He threw you into a building and you crawled forward a little bit. You saw Yuffie and Cloud running forward and they looked horrified.  
"Leon! Hurry!" Cloud shouted back.  
Yuffie ran to you and bent down.  
"Where are Aerith and the kids?" You looked up and Yuffie saw the kids surrounding Aerith. Yuffie stood up and looked at Cloud, who hadn't seen Aerith yet. "Cloud, get Leon, now!"  
Cloud nodded and ran back to get Leon, Cid, Tifa, and Merlin while Yuffie took out her shuriken.  
"What did you do?" Yuffie shouted at Sephiroth.  
Sephiroth just grinned and pointed his sword at the three kids.  
"NO!" You shouted as you stumbled up again.  
Cloud, Leon, Cid, Tifa, and Merlin came up and Tifa came to your side. She looked at the kids and gasped.  
"Aerith..." Cloud mumbled.  
He glared at Sephiroth and charged at him. You, on the other hand, slowly drifted to darkness.  
"Wait, stay with me." Leon shouted as he cupped your face into his hands. "Don't die now!"  
You smiled a little and closed your eyes, which caused Leon to shake you. It didn't work as you were out._

"Shit!" You shouted as you sat up.  
"What?" Sora said as he looked back at you.  
"Shit. What was that?"  
"What was what?"  
"I had this weird... dream."  
"What happened?" Sora asked.  
"I... was back in Hollow Bastion. And Sephiroth killed Aerith and me." Sora looked at you and frowned. You smiled a little and he looked forward.  
"We're here."


	23. 22

You stepped into town and grinned foolishly.  
"I haven't been here in forever." You felt the tears ready to pour out.  
Sora pulled a flyer off a nearby building and held it out for you. You took it and smiled, walking to the town square. There, a huge crowd was cheering at the top of their lungs. Struggle.  
You grinned at Sora and ran to the crowd to see who was fighting.  
"Second round! Vivi vs. Fuu!"  
You looked at Sora and smiled.

Fuu and you were best friends when you lived here. Fuu joined Seifer's group but you weren't fond of Seifer. Fuu and you remained friends, but the more you rejected Seifer, the more she rejected you. Finally, you gave up and joined the Discipline Committee, which Seifer was happy about. However, you weren't the best at being harsh and cruel, so you joined Hayner, Olette, and Pence on your off time. The days Sora came to Twilight Town, you were at the beach, reeking havoc on behalf of the Discipline Committee. Your childhood wasn't the best, let's just say.

You shoved your way to the front of the crowd and saw a group of adults preparing to fight. On the stage, Vivi and Fuu were fighting each other, Vivi winning only by a little.  
"Isn't that Hayner?" Sora asked. You looked to the right and saw him talking with two other adults; Olette and Pence.  
Olette was holding Hayner's hand and she smiled at him as Hayner was angry about something. Pence, wearing his red headband after all these years; was laughing at Hayner and you smiled.  
"Let's go."  
You walked over to the adults, hoping Sora was right behind you.

"Hi guys."  
Olette let go of Hayner's hand and looked at you with a knowing look on her face.  
"I know you." She looked at Hayner and Pence. "Don't you know her?"  
"Uhh..." Hayner looked at Pence for an answer but he didn't have one either.  
"I have to go." Pence said as he took out a microphone and went up on stage.  
"Come on Hayner!" Olette said, smiling at you.  
"I don't know..."  
"It's her. Oh, forget it." She turned to you. "I can't believe it. I haven't seen you for almost twenty years. Where have you been?" Olette asked excitedly.  
"I moved. I meant to visit but this was the first time I could come in a while. Sora's here with me as well..." You turned around but didn't see Sora behind you.  
You looked at the crowd and saw him, being dragged by Riku.  
"No way," You muttered. You turned back to Olette and Hayner. "I'll be right back."  
You ran through the crowd, trying to catch up to Sora and Riku. Someone else grabbed your arm and jerked you back. You turned around angrily but saw who had grabbed you and fell silent.

-_-_-_-  
"What do you think you guys are doing?" Riku asked angrily.  
"It was all her idea!" Sora shouted. Sora looked at Donald and Goofy, who were helping the captain hold him hostage. "I thought we were friends!"  
"You can't trust Dreg! He was the one who killed you two!"  
"Hey, we're here now. How amazing is that?"  
"Where are the machine parts you found?"  
"I'm not telling you Riku. We've gone through a lot to find the part. She almost died for it!"  
Riku froze up and frowned. He made a swift arm movement and his keyblade appeared.  
"Where is the part? Tell me now!" He pointed the keyblade at him and Sora took a deep breath.


	24. 23

"Vincent, what are you doing here?" You hissed.  
"I followed Riku here." Vincent answered nonchalantly.  
"Why?"  
"Elena informed me that Riku was going out to look for you. I tagged along." You looked at him like he was crazy. "Riku's trying to stop you."  
"Well, I already knew that." You smiled at him and took his long black hair into your hand. "Are you helping him?"  
"No, of course not. I mean, he's my captain and all, but I want to help you."

"You know this isn't going to work out for you, right Vincent? If I go back, I will end up with Riku... and not you."  
Vincent looked down sadly and you frowned as well.  
"It is okay. If you're happy, then I am too."  
You smiled and kissed him on the cheek.  
"Thank you."  
"Well, let's find this part." Vincent said happily.

-_-_-_-  
"Goofy! How could you betray me?"  
"Gawrsh, we didn't mean to."  
Sora banged on the wall of his prison inside of Riku's Gummi ship.  
"Guys! I need to find this machine part!"  
"Captain Riku is looking for the part."  
"Goofy, think about what has happened? We can change it all."  
"But Riku says we can't trust Dreg."  
"We can! I can! Please Goofy!"  
"Sorry, Sora. I'm on important duties."  
Sora banged his head on the wall and sank to the floor.

-_-_-_-  
You watched Fuu walk off the stage and you walked over cautiously.  
"Fuu?"  
She looked up at you and frowned.  
"Ghost." You smiled a little and looked down.  
"How are you?"  
She nodded and you smiled.  
"So, what have you been up to in the past years?" She looked over at a man, who was wearing an orange beanie, and you recognized him immediately.  
"You and Seifer got married?" She nodded and you grinned foolishly. "That's amazing!"  
"You?"  
"No, I'm not married."  
Fuu nodded and Seifer walked over to the two of you.

"Do I know you?"  
"Yeah, I think you do. We hated each other a long time ago." Seifer grinned and nodded.  
"Then, I do remember you."  
"How have you been?"  
"I've been good."  
"And the Discipline Committee?" Seifer laughed again and took Fuu's hand. You looked down, a little jealous because you didn't have a hand to hold.  
"We disbanded a while after you left. Rai works down at the train station and Vivi hangs around with us occasionally."

"Hey Seifer. We saw you talking to our good friend here." Olette, Hayner, and Pence had come over to you all, which surprised you a lot.  
Back in the day, the two groups hated each other, but now, they were talking.  
"She's been gone for so long, it's really weird." Seifer answered.  
"You can say that again." Hayner said, smiling at you.  
"So what are you doing here?" Pence asked. "Not trying to be rude or anything. I was just wondering; we all were."  
"I'm here on business. Have to find something." You turned around, watching Vincent pace back and forth, waiting for you.  
"Who's that?" Olette asked  
"My friend, Vincent."  
"Your friend?" Olette asked suspiciously.  
"Sure." Fuu said.  
"He is my friend."  
Olette grinned at Hayner and he took her hand, smiling back.

"Do you need help? Five hands are better than one." Hayner offered.  
You turned around and looked at Vincent, grinning.


	25. 24

"Next, will be Twilight Town, where you rest. Starting there will probably be best."  
"What?" Seifer asked.  
"It's a riddle. How to find the missing piece I'm searching for."  
"So, where you rest?"  
Vincent looked at your friends, who were all in deep thought. He looked at you and you smiled at him.

"A bed." Pence answered.  
You looked up at him, confused by the random statement. Apparently, you were the only feeling confused. Hayner nodded and the others thought for a while.  
"House." Fuu said.  
"Right. Your house." Hayner agreed.  
"Is my house still up?"  
"Of course it is. Why wouldn't it be?" Pence asked.  
"Well, I've been gone for a long time."  
"We're not like that." Olette laughed.

You all walked to the Sandlot and you saw your small white house sitting in solitude. It didn't look deserted like you imagined.  
"Does someone live there?"  
"Your parents sold that house a long time ago."  
"Where are my parents?"  
"They live in the beach district now. They're perfect, in case you were wondering."

You smiled in relief and knocked on the house door. The door opened immediately and a little girl stood in the door way.  
"Hello."  
"Hi, I was wondering if we could come in. I use to live here and I believe I left something here."  
The little girl looked hesitant, seeing all the others behind you. She nodded slowly. You walked in with the others. You went up to your old room, which now was the room of the little girl and you smiled. Memories of living in Twilight Town rushed back and you felt like going to the beach to see your other friends.

"There's a trap door under the carpet." You muttered.  
Vincent pulled up a trap door under the little girl's carpet and everyone peered in. You jumped down into the hole and you peered around. This is where you went when you wanted to be alone. Apparently, the little girl didn't know it existed because it still had your old things in it. You thought for a little and remembered your childhood.

When you were fourteen, you were at the top of the clock tower after Olette, Pence, and Hayner left. You noticed that that the clock had some odd piece on it and you took it with you to your room. That was the machine part you needed.  
You moved your clock off of its shelf and saw the dusty piece.  
"I have it!" You shouted up to the others. You climbed out of the hole and passed the part to Vincent.

"We have to hurry. Riku is searching for the piece as well." Vincent muttered.  
You nodded and looked at your friends.  
"I have to go, but I promise to come back and visit."  
"Don't worry about it. We trust you." Olette smiled.  
You hugged her and Fuu. Hayner and Pence also gave you a hug and you gave Seifer a quick hug, although you both didn't like it that much.  
"Tell Rai and Vivi I said hello. And if you guys go to the beach, tell them I said hi too."  
"No problem." Pence answered.

Vincent took your hand and pulled you along. You turned around to watch your friends shrink in the distance, which almost brought tears to your eyes. Vincent brought you to his Gummi ship and you sat in the back seats as he went to the captain seat. He noticed how upset you were and sat next to you, taking your hand.

"Are you okay?" Vincent asked.  
"Yeah, I'm fine."  
"You don't look it."  
"I... I just realized how much I screwed up my past."  
"You didn't screw up your past." Vincent reassured.  
"I did. I made everyone believe I was dead. All my friends didn't know where I went and now I suddenly appear in their lives. I've messed up Riku and Kairi's life. I've ruined yours. And Sora is now in trouble and I... didn't mean that."  
You wiped away your tears and Vincent leaned forward. His sweet cinnamon smell put you in a trance and you leaned forward too. You two met and kissed, but through your mind, Riku was there.  
You were the first to pull away and you frowned at Vincent.  
"You can stay here in this time... with me."  
You put your hand on Vincent's cheek and frowned.  
"I have to go back, Vincent."  
Vincent smiled and nodded.  
"Right," He got up and went to the captain seat as you stayed in the back to sleep.

-_-_-_-  
"Where are we going?" Sora shouted to Riku in the captain seat.  
"We're headed to Hollow Bastion, where the last piece will be."  
"What about the one in Twilight Town?"  
"Knowing her, she probably found it without you."  
Sora glared at the wall and pounded on the wall.  
"King Mickey is meeting us in Hollow Bastion." Riku said, matter-of-factly.  
Sora sunk down to the floor again and whipped out his keyblade. He pointed it at the door and the door unlocked quietly. He poked his head out and saw Donald and Goofy sleeping in the back. Riku looked forward confidently, not noticing his prisoner in the back. Sora sneaked to the front and pointed his keyblade at the back of Riku's head.

"I don't want to do this Riku. But you're leaving me no choice." Riku ground his teeth together and whipped around to face Sora. "Take me to Hollow Bastion fine... But you're my prisoner now, understand?"  
Riku glared at Sora and turned around to fly the Gummi ship.  
"Just like old times, huh Riku?"


	26. 25

"King Mickey's going to be there?" You asked after Vincent he explained everything you missed. "Great. Now he is going to see the traitor that he once thought was a friend."  
"He doesn't think you betrayed them." Vincent muttered.  
"You're lying through your teeth."  
Vincent looked sadly at you in the back and you leaned your head back on the seat. You decided that maybe some sleep would be good.

_You looked down at Riku and tears ran down your cheeks. He was in the hospital bed of the Tower and he was sleeping. He looked horrible and so did you as you looked down at your hands and arms. Sora was also in a hospital bed but he didn't look as bad, just a broken arm and cuts on his face. Kairi was at his side and she had tears in her eyes too, not for Sora but for Riku as well.  
"He will be all right but he is suffering from some memory loss." The doctor explained to you, Sora, and Kairi.  
"What kind of memory loss?" Sora asked.  
"He can't remember where he is. He doesn't know who you all are either."  
"What?" You asked in shock.  
"For how long?"  
"We're not sure. But some of the tests show it may be permanent."  
"And Vincent is apprehended, correct?" Sora asked sternly, standing up from his bed.  
Elena nodded to him and Sora straightened his jacket. "I am going to inform King Mickey of everything that occurred." He walked out of the room but Kairi stayed in the room with you.  
You sat on Riku's bed and pushed his hair out of his face. He immediately woke up and grabbed your arm.  
"Who are you?"  
"It's me, Riku, you know who I am." His eyes told you everything you wanted to know though. He didn't know who you were.  
You stood up and walked out of the room, Kairi following behind you, looking back at Riku frequently.  
"He'll get better." Kairi cried out.  
"They said it will be permanent!"  
"They said it may be. It's not set in stone yet." You looked at Kairi and cried. _

You woke up silently and saw Vincent driving the Gummi ship. You suddenly felt uneasy about his being there. It was just a dream but it seemed as real as the first dream you had.

-_-_-_-  
Goofy and Donald were now in the prisoner cell and Sora sat in the co-pilot seat, pointing his keyblade at Riku. Riku still looked pissed and Sora was just being goofy in the other seat.  
"Are we there yet?" Sora asked.  
"Sora, shut up."  
Sora grinned and rummaged through his pockets, which were actually Leon's pants.  
"Cool. I got a keychain."  
He put the keychain at the bottom of his keyblade and put the Mickey ears in his pocket again. His keyblade turned into the lionheart and he grinned.

"Why do you trust Dreg?"  
"I don't." Sora answered.  
"Then why-"  
"Because she knows him. She trusts him and I will follow her wherever she goes." A bit a jealously tinged through Riku and he turned to look at Sora. His jealously became greater as he saw Sora as a suitable match for you. He knew he was married and had a daughter but he always wanted you. "What's wrong with you?"  
Riku finally realized that he did love Kairi. But with Sora and you back in the picture, he could have you and Kairi would be happy with Sora. That only left his daughter.  
"Maybe the time machine could work."  
"Wait, you're letting us use it?" Riku looked at Sora and didn't say anything. Sora smiled and put down his keyblade.

"I knew you'd warm up to the idea."  
Riku smiled a little and quickly punched Sora to the floor. He elbowed Sora in the head and Sora was knocked out.  
"But there's a catch to Dreg."  
He let Donald and Goofy out of the prisoner cell and they landed in Hollow Bastion.  
"Let's go before he wakes up."  
"Yes sir." Donald answered sadly as he looked down at the unconscious Sora. Goofy looked more upset and didn't follow behind immediately.

Riku walked into the bailey and bowed to the King.  
"Where are they?" King Mickey asked.  
"Sora is in my ship. I don't know where she is."  
"And how many pieces have you found?  
"I have one. Sora has the other but we can take that. And she has the other."  
"Gawrsh, what's the poem again?" Goofy asked.  
"It's a riddle, Goofy." Donald answered.  
"Right, a-hyuck."  
"In Hollow Bastion, a second home. It lays with Yuffie and where she roams." Riku recited.  
"I have gone to Leon and informed of everything that has occurred. He will help us." King Mickey said. "Leon doesn't know where Yuffie is now but we can search for her now."  
"Where would she roam?"  
"The castle?" Goofy asked.  
Riku looked down at Mickey and nodded.

-_-_-_-  
Vincent landed the ship and you knew that Riku was out looking for the part.  
The good thing about living in Hollow Bastion was that you knew where Yuffie would be at this time of day.


	27. 26

You walked silently towards the bailey. You saw the three fairies, Yuna, Paine, and Rikku, flying around and you smiled. They were always running from Yuffie, no matter the situation. Even as everyone was older, nothing seemed to change as Yuffie came running along with her shuriken.

Yuffie stopped dead in her tracks and smiled.  
"Well, hiya!"  
"Hi Yuffie."  
"What are you doing here?"  
"Came to look for some people. You seen Sora or the King lately?"  
Yuffie pondered for a minute and shook her head.  
"Nope. But I did see a Gummi Ship fly in a while ago." You looked at Vincent and nodded. He passed you a gun and walked away as you looked down at his gun. "So, who's he?"  
"His name's Vincent."  
"Ooh," Yuffie cooed.  
"There's nothing going on between us." You said sharply.  
"I know, I know. You're Riku's."  
You smiled a little and Yuffie saw Rikku fluttering around you.  
"What about me?"  
"Not you!" Yuffie shouted. She sprinted towards the fairy and she flew away quickly while you smiled.

You ran the opposite way of Yuffie because chasing the three meant she had to have gotten sea salt ice cream. Rikku, Paine, or Yuna would have messed with her ice cream and Yuffie would go chasing after them. That's where the part was going to be. With Yuffie's beloved ice cream.

-_-_-_-  
Riku looked around and frowned at the castle. Being in Hollow Bastion brought back too many memories of his childhood. Of all the bad things he did. And how he betrayed his friends.  
"I don't think Yuffie comes here." Donald said.  
"What makes you think that?" Goofy asked.  
"Well, if she did, wouldn't she be here now if she does it everyday?"  
Mickey frowned and looked up at Riku. Donald was right and if they were going to find this piece before you, they had to find Yuffie immediately.  
"She's lived with Yuffie for thirteen years. She's going to find this piece before we do." Riku muttered.  
"We can convince her not to go to the darkness. She never wanted to be a part of the darkness again and she won't want to now." King Mickey said. "We'll split up. Donald and Goofy, you will try to find Yuffie. Riku and I will find the other."  
"Yes sir."

-_-_-_-  
You passed the castle in the middle of Hollow Bastion and frowned. Riku told you the stories of how he let darkness in his heart and got possessed by Ansem. He regretted that time of his life and you felt sorry for him. Darkness was never something you wanted to go back to. Starting off your life with Maleficent and Pete let a lot of darkness into your heart. You could do a lot of things but in the end, it wasn't worth it. Finally, meeting Sora, Riku, Donald, and Goofy changed everything for you. You switched sides and with Mickey's help, you finally became good again.

Your thoughts drifted to your childhood, before you met Sora and Riku. You felt embarrassed at that moment, thinking of everything you did.  
"Hey!"  
You turned around and saw Riku and Mickey looking at you. You pulled out your gun and sprinted towards the ice cream stand. If you could get the part and get out before they got you, you'd be all right. Pete could help you get the two parts that Riku had.

You jumped over ledges and landed in front of the ice cream stand.  
"Hello. May I help you?" The ice cream man said happily.  
You pulled on his collar and threw him over the stand and into a wall. He hit the wall hard and was knocked out.  
"Sorry about that." You jumped over the stand and looked around. "Shit." You mumbled as you couldn't find the stupid machine part.  
"Where is she?" You heard Riku ask. You peered over the stand and saw Mickey and Riku looking at the unconscious ice cream man. Riku looked quickly at the stand and you ducked down. You noticed that the ice cream freezer was glowing just like the crevasse was when you were in Traverse Town. You crawled forward and stood up quickly. You reached in and pulled out the machine part while Riku and Mickey gazed in awe. You turned to face them, but held the gun steadily in your hand.

Riku put his hands up and Mickey looked at you.  
"You don't want to do this."  
"I think I do."

"Following Dreg will lead you back into darkness. You don't want that. Riku and I both know that."  
"Where's Sora?" You asked.  
"He's in my ship. Safe and sound."  
You backed up into the ice cream box and looked behind you to find any escape routes.  
"Please don't do this." Riku pleaded.  
"I need to change everything. This wasn't how my future was supposed to end up. I... I should have never showed up." You finished.  
Now that the time travel was achievable, how far back could you go? You only thought about going as far back as the crash. But going that far back meant you would never meet Leon, Yuffie, Aerith, Tifa, Cloud, Merlin, Cid or the kids. But now that you thought of never letting darkness entering your heart. That would mean you would stay in Twilight Town. Never meet Maleficent or Pete and never meet Riku, Sora, Kairi and everyone who has impacted your life.

You back-flipped on top of the ice cream stand and jumped to the roof of a building. You ran across the roof of all the buildings and saw Yuffie chasing the fairies. You kept going and saw the kids playing in the front of the house. Cloud and Leon were training in the bailey. Cid and Merlin were arguing about magic and computers (you didn't need to hear that to know that's what they were arguing about). You finally saw Aerith and Tifa talking to one another and you stopped. You didn't want to leave this life. You didn't want to leave Riku either.

You had a tough decision and matters around you were not helping.


	28. 27

Vincent was waiting for you at the Gummi Ship and smiled as you pulled out the machine part.  
"So how are we going to get the other two pieces?"  
"I think Dreg can help."

-_-_-_-  
_"Sora, you lazy bum, I knew I'd find you here."  
"Give me a break Kairi!"  
"Sora?"_

Sora sat up and looked at Riku, who was frowning strangely.  
"What are you talking about?"  
"Uh... nothing. Don't worry about it, _Riku_."  
"Come on, let's go." Riku pulled Sora up by the arm and dragged him outside of the Gummi Ship.  
"Where we going?"  
"King Mickey wants to talk with you."  
"Wait, I don't want to see King Mickey." Sora tried to fight against Riku's strength to go the opposite way. However, Riku was always stronger and faster than Sora and times like now were not changing.

"Sora."  
"Yes, your majesty?" Sora asked feebly.  
"I need your help."  
Sora looked at the King and frowned.  
"With what?"  
"We can't let her go back in time. Do you know what time travel does?"  
"I think I have an idea. But I'm not in charge of this mission. She is the one who trusts Dreg, she's the one who got all the pieces and she's the one who wants to change her past. I'm just a humble servant."  
"Sora! Letting her go back will let the darkness back into her heart. She may be going back in time but that darkness will follow her." Riku shouted.  
"I think she knows the consequences." Sora muttered as he thought of how you almost died in Traverse Town. "She's doing this all for you, you know."

Riku clenched his fists and got ready to hit Sora but Donald and Goofy stepped in front of Sora.  
"Sorry Riku. You're our captain and all... but gawrsh, Sora's our friend. We have to help him."  
"Yeah!" Donald echoed in his shrilly voice.  
"Where is she going?" Mickey asked Sora.  
Sora shrugged and put his arms behind his head.  
"But since you have two pieces and she has the other two, she'll probably want to get the pieces you have."  
"How?" Riku asked.  
"Go to someone she trusts... That isn't on _your_ side."

-_-_-_-  
The doors to Dreg's office slid open and you stepped in, a serious look on your face.  
"So you have all the pieces already?" Dreg's mechanical voice asked.  
"I have two. Riku has the other two and I think you're going to help me."  
"You seem so sure." You smiled and placed the two pieces on his desk. He quickly swiped them up and put them away in his desk. "Perfect."

Dreg clicked a button and two guards came in.  
"Prepare a ship to the Tower."  
"Wait, what?" You asked.  
"We need leverage, don't we?"  
"You're not going to take Kairi, are you?"  
"I won't hurt her. _You_ wouldn't let me anyways." Dreg muttered.  
"But if we take Kairi, Sora will be against us too."  
"We'll take the little girl then. Kairi will be a back up plan."  
"I don't like the sound of this plan."  
"I have it all under control. Maleficent has been planning this... actually way before you went missing."  
"Oh..." You mumbled. Your thoughts suddenly fluttered back to Vincent. "I brought a friend. He was stopped at the entrance by your guards."  
"Do you want him to come with us?"  
"Well, no. But I don't want you to get rid of him. Send him on a bogus mission or something."  
"It was you're idea, not mine."  
Dreg clicked another button and one guard came in.

"There's someone out there. Tell him he is on a mission. Make it up as you go along, okay?"  
"Yes sir." The guard left and you smiled at Pete.  
What a good friend.


	29. 28

Dreg's army infiltrated the Tower. There were a lot of his men in the Tower and no one was expecting an attack. Of course, they weren't expecting the army to get in so easily.  
That was partially your fault though.  
Once a traitor, always a traitor.

_"What's the plan, sir?" Dreg's first officer asked.  
Dreg looked at you and you looked clueless.  
"I thought you had a plan."  
Your eyes widened and you backed away from the desk. You started to pace back and forth, plans emerging out of thin air. However, as you kept thinking about it, you realized it wouldn't work.  
"My handprint in the Tower's system. If you want to take over the Tower, I can get your army in easily."  
Dreg looked at his first officer and you could tell there was a smile behind the mask.  
"She is in charge of the mission." Dreg looked at you next. "You will arrange however many troops you need and you will lead them into the Tower." _

You placed your hand on the glass sphere into the control room. Dreg's army ran into the control room and you walked in nonchalantly. Elena was captured immediately for pulling out her gun. She noticed you and frowned.  
"How could you?" She asked angrily.  
You looked forward and nodded to another guard to turn out the power. Turning out the power sent all the residents of the Tower to a certain location. In one location would make it easier to capture all of them.

-_-_-_-  
"Elena, come in." Riku said into Cid's computer. "Anyone?"  
Yuffie looked at Sora who was bruised and blooded up. He was tied up and thrown into a corner while Goofy and Donald were sent back to the Tower for interfering too much.  
"Where is everyone?" Mickey asked Riku.  
"They were there when I left."  
"Do you think something is wrong?" Tifa asked Riku.  
Riku turned around to look at Sora and Sora was examining his bloody hand.  
"Shit."  
"What?" Leon asked.  
"I didn't delete them from the Tower."

-_-_-_-  
You stood to the side as your head guard did all the talking for you.  
"We need Kairi and Ella." People started to mutter amongst themselves but no one stepped forward. You shoved your guard to the side and stepped forward.  
"I know you all think of me as a traitor. I don't want to hurt anyone here as you were all once my family. But if I must, I will go through all of you to get to Kairi and Ella." You scanned the crowd and saw Kairi's red hair ducking down. "If you don't want anyone hurt, come forward now Kairi."  
You saw tear-filled eyes look at you and she stood up with Ella.

She walked forward and you nodded to your guard to grab the two. He dragged them off and you whispered to another guard to tie up everyone. You walked out into the hallway where you saw Kairi trying to fight the guards to keep Ella in her arms.  
"Here." You took Ella from Kairi and Kairi was crying hysterically.  
"Please don't do this." Kairi said.  
You looked at your guard and sighed.  
"Tie up Kairi and leave her here. We're taking Ella."  
"No!" Kairi started to shout.  
Ella started to cry, reaching for her mother but you walked away with Ella in your arms.

As you walked away, you felt tears falling down your cheeks as well.


	30. 29

Riku and Mickey ran into the Tower where he saw Donald and Goofy trying to help untie all the residents.  
"What happened?" Riku asked.  
"She let Dreg's army into the Tower." Elena answered. Elena looked to her left and saw Kairi crying with Minnie and Daisy at her side.  
Riku ran over to his wife and fell to his knees as he heard the news.

-_-_-_-  
Dreg looked down at his map and smiled.  
"We're very close."  
"To what?" You asked bitterly.  
"To getting to the past." Dreg answered.  
"This isn't going to work. You're going to be ambushed. And we'll never get the parts."  
Dreg looked up and walked away. You watched him walk out of the room and threw his map off the table.  
You looked down at your hands and saw the scars running along them. You left the room but passed by a room with a mirror. The mirror only caught your attention because of what you saw in the reflection. It wasn't you.  
At least you thought it wasn't.

Your eyes were extremely black as well as the bags under your eyes. Your brown hair looked darker than normal and it was a horrible mess. You hadn't looked like this since the months after Sora had died. The darkness had entered your heart again. But right now, it didn't matter.

-_-_-_-  
Dreg had prepared one last war.  
To retrieve the last part, he was going to attack the Tower with everything he had.  
And Ella was the back up plan. Just in case Dreg's army lost.  
She would die.  
And her death would be up to you.

-_-_-_-  
"Hello Riku."  
"Where is my daughter?" Riku shouted at Dreg on the verge of tears.  
"I believe you should take that up with her."  
The screen switched over you and you looked at Dreg.  
"Where is Ella?" Riku asked in a sad voice.  
"She is safe."  
"I want her back... We want her back."  
"I want Sora and the two pieces."  
"Please... Don't do this."  
"You know what I want Riku. My mind will not change. And if you do not comply with my demands, then we will go to one last war. And you could be responsible for your own daughter's death. Think about it Riku. I'm giving you two days." You nodded to Dreg and the screen went black.

-_-_-_-  
Two long, aggravating days later, you walked into Dreg's office and looked at the screen. Dreg wasn't present but his guard contacted the Tower for you.  
"So have you made a decision?"  
"I want Ella back."  
"That's not the answer I'm looking for Riku." You answered darkly. "What is your decision?" You repeated.  
"I can return Sora to you. But the pieces stay with me."  
You turned to your guard and signaled him to prepare the others.  
"Then, Riku. You have caused the final war."  
"Wait!"  
You turned off the screen and sighed.  
Killing Ella was not something you wanted to do. But with all the darkness, it wasn't impossible.


	31. 30

You pulled Ella along by a chain that was connected to her handcuffs. It was like dragging along a dog or something.  
"Come on Ella." You said angrily to the little girl.  
"I don't want to."  
"You have to." You bent down to her size and you could see the tears forming in her eyes. "You could go free but your daddy didn't want you to." Ella looked hurt by that statement. "And you may have to die for the good of the cause, okay?"  
Dreg took the chain from you and you stood up again.  
"Don't scare the hostage."

-_-_-_-  
"Donald and Goofy, I need you to follow a ship to Dreg's ship. I want you two to find Ella for me. I'm putting all my trust in you guys. I... I really need you to find her." Riku said to Donald and Goofy.  
Donald and Goofy saluted their captain and went to their ships, leaving Riku, King Mickey, and Elena. King Mickey looked up at Riku and Riku sighed.  
"Mickey, Elena. We have to do something about Sora."  
"You mean like, kill him sir?" Elena asked.  
Riku looked away and Mickey looked saddened.  
"If Ella is killed, we're getting rid of Sora as well."  
"An arm for an arm," Elena muttered.  
"Exactly,"

-_-_-_-  
You walked into the prison cell and threw Ella into one jail cell.  
"What is it you are planning to do?" Vincent shouted.  
You turned around quickly and slammed Ella's door. You death glared Vincent and went to his cell door.  
"You know what I am doing." You answered darkly.  
"But kidnapping Ella? And imprisoning me? I was trying to help you!"  
"Things change Vincent. I was introduced to a new plan and I went along with it."  
"You've changed. I don't even know who you are anymore!"  
"Neither do I." You answered as you walked away.

-_-_-_-  
The ships all lined up in space, waiting for Dreg's army to show up. Riku was in the front in his ship and looking around for you. He knew that you would be leading this war, not Dreg. Dreg never put himself in the battle line and Riku knew now wasn't different.  
"Captain, Dreg is online." Elena said over his headset. "He wants to talk to you."  
"Switch me over then."

"Hello Captain Riku." Riku grunted and Dreg chuckled. "I see you're very prepared for the war."  
"How can you see us?"  
"I sent your little girlfriend to scout. She's doing a very nice job."  
Riku took a deep breath, "How is Ella?"  
"Good, good. She is quite a screamer. Vincent is trying to calm her down."  
"Listen, Dreg-"  
"No, you listen, Riku. She feels nothing." Dreg paused. "The darkness has entered her heart and now she won't even be afraid to kill you. She only wants Sora. She feels as if she owes her life to him. And the machine pieces, which she is willing to give her life for."  
"I can't do that."  
"I know you can."  
"I can't."  
"Switch the channel, Riku." You said over the headset as well.

Riku quickly changed the signal and took a deep breath.  
"I can't give you the piece. I can't..." Riku mumbled, almost in a sob.  
"Where are they then?" You asked.  
"What?"  
"You can't give them to me, but I can take them."  
Riku put his face in his hands and took another breath.  
"They are on the Tower. I gave one to Kairi and the other is in my office."

"Good decision Riku." Dreg said in the headset.


	32. 31

You crept silently around the Tower and thought over your plan. You were going to get into the Tower with your hand print sphere. Then, you were going to break into Riku's office and find Kairi.

You looked down at the two guards you beat up and sighed. You placed your hand on the sphere and your picture showed up across the door. However, under your name it said "Wanted." You frowned and suddenly, an alarm went off.  
"Shit." You muttered under your breath.  
You ran to your ship and thought about taking off. But if you did that once, that is what you would do every time you tried to get the pieces. So instead, you ran to the visitor side and saw the other two guards you knocked out. You hid behind the wall and waited until the door opened. A minute later, you heard the resident doors open and guards running out.  
"Find her, now!" You heard Elena shout.  
You pulled out your gun and crept back to the visitor doors. You kicked down the door but the alarm was already going off, so you weren't going to be caught yet.  
"Every resident needs to get to hiding, immediately." You heard a guard say over the intercom.  
You grinned at how you scared everyone and ran around the ship, avoiding guards and residents.

-_-_-_-  
Riku thought about how you were to get into the Tower. He knew you couldn't because he locked you out of the system. He thought about something and was going to call the Tower but he was shot by one of Dreg's soldiers.  
"Sir, they are coming from every angle!" One of Riku's soldiers said.  
"Okay. Fire at will."

-_-_-_-  
You finally got to Riku's office but it was locked.  
"You're killing me, Riku."  
You backed up a bit and kicked down the door, setting off the alarm on the inside of the office. You searched his office and finally got to his locked desk. You shot the desk's lock and pulled open the drawer. You opened the secret compartment under his books and picked up the piece.  
"Freeze!" You looked up at Elena and grinned.  
"Hi."  
Elena held her gun tightly and grinned as well.  
"Don't think I won't shoot you."  
"I know you will." You stepped back into the shadows and let the darkness consume you.  
Elena shot at you but thought she missed.

You held onto your shoulder and pulled back to find blood.  
"Stupid." You muttered as you wiped the blood on your pant leg.  
You looked around and realized you were outside of Kairi's apartment. You grinned a little; you hadn't used your darkness in a while and it seemed to work perfectly, like it did when you were fourteen.  
You knocked at Kairi's door but no one answered. You shot the lock open and kicked the door to get inside. You searched the whole house but she wasn't around. They were all in the hiding.

You rummaged her fridge for food and sat down with a sea-salt ice cream. This gave you some time to think about where Kairi would be. After a couple minutes, you finished off your ice cream and got up to crack your back.  
You walked out of the apartment but found a resident walking the hallways. He saw you and tried to run away but you held him at gunpoint.  
"Where's Kairi?"  
"I-I don't know."  
"Are you sure?" You asked darkly.  
"Y-Y-Yes."  
You threw him into a wall and he went unconscious. You kept walking and found more residents. They had no information and you resorted to breaking into other apartments for answers. Finally, one resident gave you information on Kairi and Sora's whereabouts.  
First, you were going to get Kairi, then Sora.

-_-_-_-  
Donald and Goofy had finally made it to Dreg's main ship. They had made it inside by mere accident but it worked for the both of them. Now they were searching for the holding cell.

-_-_-_-  
"Hey, your majesty."  
"Wait!" Minnie cried but you were enveloped in darkness, appearing right behind Kairi.  
You put your gun to her head and smiled.  
"Kairi, I would like that machine part. Now, if you would please." You held out your other hand but Kairi just looked down.  
"No."  
"Don't make me call the other ship. Ella's life depends on it." Kairi broke out into tears and you looked around. Minnie was in a fighting stance. "You know, I heard what you could do your majesty. Very amazing sorceress from what I hear. But I also have a good shot. I could take the three of you out by the time you got one spell out, your majesty."  
Minnie looked bewildered because she thought you only saw her and Kairi. You knew Daisy was behind you though. You turned around and pointed your gun at Daisy. She stepped back and you motioned her to get in front of you.  
"The piece. Now!" You shouted.  
More tears poured out of Kairi's eyes as she pulled out the machine part from her bag. She hesitantly handed it to you but you snatched it before she could pull back. You let her go and she fell to the ground.  
"I want Ella."  
"Yeah, I know."  
You walked to the door and Minnie tried to hit you with a spell. You disappeared into the darkness before she could do a thing.

You casually walked to the holding cell, knocking out guards on the way. This time you could push them with the force of your darkness. You were face to face with Elena in the end.  
She didn't even tell you to freeze because she shot at you immediately. She shot you in the side and you fell over. You used your force to push her into the door and you kept doing that until the door opened. Elena was unconscious as you crawled forward.

You fell forward, down the stairs and lay at the bottom of the stairs.  
"Are you okay?"  
"Sora... Shut up." You moaned as you tried to get up.  
"Well, get me out so I can help you up."  
You fell again and just pulled yourself forward.  
"Where's your Keyblade?" You asked.  
"It doesn't work in here. Don't worry, I've tried." Sora said sitting down to talk to you. "So what exactly happened to you? No offense, but you look like shit."  
"Thanks Sora." You smiled a little and gripped your side as you stood up to get the keys.  
You hobbled over the cell and lent against the door as you unlocked it. The door opened and Sora jumped out.  
"Freedom!" He shouted.  
"Sora!" You hissed. "Shut up." You fell down and looked at your side. It was gushing blood and you tried to wipe it off.  
Sora whipped out his Keyblade and pointed it at you. He used his cure spell and you were glowing a little as your wounds were stitched up.

"Where are we going now?"  
You looked up and held out the two machine parts. Sora smiled and nodded.


	33. 32

You knocked almost everyone out who got on your way to your ship. Sora followed along silently, unsure what to think of your new powers. You went up to your ship and smiled at Sora which reassured him to follow you.

-_-_-_-  
"Have you reached Donald or Goofy yet?" Riku asked one of his soldiers.  
"No sir. I can't get a hold of the Tower either."  
Riku looked around his ship and followed one of Dreg's soldiers.  
"Sir, what about the Tower?" Another soldier asked.  
"They will be fine."

-_-_-_-  
"Get off me Goofy!" Donald shouted as he pushed Goofy off him.  
"Donald? Goofy?" Vincent asked quietly as he looked up from his cell.  
"Hi Vincent." Goofy said happily.  
"What are you guys doing down here?"  
"Well, we came to find Ella and you." Goofy answered.  
"But Goofy here ended up getting us caught." Donald answered grumpily.  
"Let's go guys." Dreg said as he threw the two into their own individual cells.

-_-_-_-  
"Here are your pieces." You said as you threw the machine parts on Dreg's desk.  
"Very nicely done." Dreg said as he removed his helmet. "Are you ready to go back then?" You looked at Sora and nodded. "All right. Then, follow me."

You followed Pete to the lowest point in the ship where you found a huge machine, the time machine.  
"Whoa." Sora muttered.  
Pete walked up to the machine and installed the last two pieces. The machine lit up and you stepped back as a portal showed up.  
"So are you ready to go back?" Pete asked.  
You took another step back and looked over at Sora. He looked enthusiastic to go but waited for you.

Now that you finally got what you wanted, you weren't sure it was what you wanted. If you went back, you would never meet the Restoration Committee. If you went back, Ella wouldn't be born. If you went back, what would you do?  
"Sora."  
"Yes?"  
"What are you planning to do when you go back in time?"  
Sora looked confused and shrugged.  
"I guess I haven't really thought about that."  
"You didn't think about it but it's all we wanted!"  
Sora shrugged again and grinned foolishly.  
"Is this what you want?" Pete asked you.

You took a huge breath and closed your eyes as you stepped towards the time machine.  
"By the way, when you go through the portal, you'll end up here. But it will be thirteen years previous. I'm setting in the day you two crashed."  
"So are we going to crash again?" Sora asked.  
Pete nodded and Sora looked up at you.  
"I know this isn't that easy." You muttered.  
Pete grinned and Sora looked confused again.  
"I taught you well." Pete said happily.  
"Taught you what?" Sora asked. "Wait!" Sora shouted after you. "Wait! What isn't easy?"


	34. 33

"Whoa!" You tripped on the machine and landed roughly. You lifted yourself just in time for Sora to trip and land where you just were.  
"Oof." Sora rubbed his arm and stood up.  
"Where are we?"  
You looked around and frowned.  
"Pete and Maleficent hadn't found the time machine at the time. So we must be where it was originally located."  
"Uhm... Again, where are we?"  
You smiled and walked away from the machine.  
"Take four pieces with you."  
"Wait, what?" Sora asked.  
"We're the ones who hid the pieces." You answered.  
"How do you know that?"  
"Because who else would hide one of the pieces at my house and the other with Yuffie. Who would hide a piece with one of his friends and one at the place when he started his adventure?"  
"It was us? But how come we couldn't find the pieces easy?"

You looked at him and shrugged.  
"I still don't know much about this time traveling. We'll figure it out as we go."  
Sora scratched his neck and grinned.  
"Shouldn't we leave ourselves the clue?"  
"Right. Get on that Sora."  
Sora's smile turned into a frown and he sat down to write the clue. He grumbled as he carved the riddle into a rock.

You wandered away from him and tried to find your location. It was difficult as you were in the middle of a forest. It wasn't a rainforest so Deep Jungle was out. This could have been the forest in Twilight Town but you should have found the mansion as you walked. Destiny Island had a forest but you knew this forest wasn't from there. You came to an opening and sighed in relief.  
You went back for Sora and found him finishing up the riddle.  
"You find out where we are?"  
"Yepp."  
"And any Gummi Ships?"  
"Nope."  
"So how are we getting the pieces to their hiding spots?"  
"We're just gonna need faith, trust..."  
"And pixie dust." Sora finished.  
You beamed and walked towards the port where Hook's ship was.

-_-_-_-  
"This is Hook's ship though."  
"Listen, I have a better relationship with him than I do with Peter right now."  
"What do you mean, right now?"  
"If we were to go back another five years, Peter and I would be friends. But, I made bad mistakes when I was younger..." Sora listened intently. "I betrayed Peter and worked with Hook. It was what I had to do when I worked for Maleficent."  
"But at this moment, you are friends with us. Maybe Peter already forgave you."  
You shook your head and continued to Hook's ship.  
"He never would."  
"You don't know him; he would." Sora said as he walked alongside you.  
"No he wouldn't."  
"He would."  
"Wouldn't."  
"Would."  
"WOULDN'T!" You shouted.  
"What did you do to him?" Sora shouted back.  
"Let's go." You muttered.  
"I'm not going until you tell me." Sora said stubbornly.  
"I said let's go!" You shouted.  
With that, a black rope appeared from the ground and wrapped around Sora. It dragged him forward and Sora looked wildly at you.  
"Stop." You said and the rope went away.

"You still have your powers." Sora said.  
You looked down at your hands and frowned.  
"Well, I just learned something about this time traveling."

-_-_-_-  
"Hook." You pointed a sword at him and he grinned.  
"Hello. How are you, my dear?"  
"Fine. I brought you a hostage."  
He looked at Sora in the ropes and smiled.  
"Sora?" He looked back at you. "How did you catch him?"  
"Does it matter?" You asked harshly. "I want a price."  
"And what is that?"  
"I want a ride out of this world."  
"To where?"  
"Five places."  
Hook looked at you suspiciously.  
"Sora's head is not worth five trips."  
"Then what is?"  
"Peter Pan."


	35. 34

"Of course." You muttered as you walked towards Sora.  
Hook slapped your hand with his sword as you reached for Sora's rope.  
"He stays."  
"Then, how do expect me to find Peter?"

-_-_-_-  
"I'm gonna kill him someday." You mumbled as you walked through the forest.  
You were trying to remember the way to Peter's hide out but it had been forever. You had a feeling you were really close though.  
"Freeze!"  
You stopped moving and looked to your left, where the voice came from.  
"Chubby?" You asked.  
He looked up and glared at you.  
"What are you doing here?"  
"I-I'm looking for Peter."  
"Anyone could have guessed that." Another voice said.

The red headed Peter floated up into the sky and you smiled.  
"Hi Peter." You said softly.  
"What are you doing here?" Chubby repeated.  
"I... I need your help." Peter folded his arms and glared at you. "Captain Hook kidnapped Sora and I can't get Sora out myself."  
Peter unfolded his arms and flew closer to you.  
"Sora?" Peter asked. "He's here too?"  
"Yeah. I didn't want him to but he came with me. And now it's my fault he was captured."  
Peter pondered the thought and flew even higher.  
"Okay. I'll help you but this doesn't clear what happened before."  
"Of course not." You mumbled.

-_-_-_-  
Peter, Tinkerbell, and you went to the dock to break onto Hook's ship.  
"What's the plan?" You asked.  
Peter looked confused and looked at Tink.  
"Well, I was gonna wing it. But do you want a plan?" You shook your head and Peter took Tink between his fingers. He shook her and all her fairy dust fell on you. "That's just in case."  
"Thanks Peter." You dusted some of the excess fairy dust. "And, just in case anything happens to us, I want you to know... I really am sorry."  
Peter flew up in the air and smiled.  
"I know." You smiled and started to fly as well.

You three flew up to the mast and searched the ship for the pirates.  
"Where is Sora being held?"  
"In Hook's cabin." You answered immediately.  
"Let's go then."  
Peter burst into Hook's cabin and was captured right on the spot. Tink was captured next and you walked in casually.  
"Thank you, my dear."  
"Our deal?" You asked harshly.  
"It's done." Hook answered nonchalantly.  
"You betrayed me again!" Peter shouted.  
Your darkness shot out of the ground and wrapped around Peter's mouth. You walked up to him and bent down to size up with him.  
"I never would do this if I didn't have to."  
He glared at you and moved away from you.

Sora was unwrapped and looked you sympathetically.  
"He'll forgive you someday." Sora whispered to you. He turned to Hook and nodded. "Let's get out of here."

-_-_-_-  
Sora dropped off the two pieces in his spots and you went to your two spots. The last spot you needed to go to was either the Deep Jungle to convince the younger you to take Sora with you or to go to the Tower to stop younger Sora and you from traveling.  
"I think we should go to the Deep Jungle." Sora said as he propped his feet up on Hook's desk.  
"Well, we can stop the younger us from going."  
"But isn't it going to be crazy when we pop in and there are two of us. I think we should meet ourselves when we're by ourselves so we don't seem as crazy."  
"As crazy... Right." You laughed a little. That reminded you of something. "What about Maleficent and Pete?"  
"What about them?" Sora asked.  
"If we go to them, we can stop the war."  
Sora thought about it and nodded.  
"That could work."  
"I think we should do it."


	36. 35

"Let... Us... Go!" You shouted as the darkness shot out of the ground and attacked all the guards. Sora stood up and looked at you like that was crazy. "What?" You asked.  
"Nothing, let's just go." Sora answered.

You two went through the whole ship, attacking guards left and right. You finally broke into the office where Dreg was located.  
"What are you doing here?"  
You looked at Sora and smiled.  
"We're here to stop you."

-_-_-_-  
"You're saying I die?" Maleficent asked. You nodded and she glanced at Pete. "Was it his doing?" She whispered.  
"No. It was yours." You whispered back.  
She sat back and frowned.  
"So you want us to stop from attacking the Tower?"  
"Exactly." Sora said.  
"Well... I will not."  
"Wait, what do you mean?" You asked angrily.  
"I prepared this war for years now. One day when I would attack the king and win."  
"You don't though!" You shouted.  
"But with your warning, I know exactly what to do so that I don't lose."  
"You only died because you went to look for her!" Sora shouted. "Even if you win, you'll feel guilty about what happened. You did before, you'll do it again!"  
"Silence." Maleficent shouted. She turned to Pete and nodded.  
"Soldiers, attack." Pete said through the computer.  
"NO!" You shouted as you jumped on Pete and knocked him over.  
"Guards, arrest these two!" Maleficent shouted.  
Your darkness shot out of the ground again and attacked without you even concentrating on attacking.  
"We have to go!" Sora shouted.  
You looked at Maleficent and sighed, running after Sora.

You fell suddenly and your chest was on fire. Not literally, but your heart seemed to have exploded.  
"Sora." You shouted.  
You started to scream and grip your shirt. Sora ran back and picked you up. He threw you over your soldier and ran to the exit, planning to steal a Gummi ship.  
You kept clawing at your chest and the pain worsened. Meanwhile, Sora fought a guard and got on the Gummi ship, setting you down on a chair. He took off while you thought you were going to die of the pain.  
"What's wrong?" Sora asked as he flew through all the mayhem in space.  
"My..." You screamed in pain again and Sora avoided another ship.  
"Where do I go?" Sora shouted.  
"Deep Jungle." You answered quickly.

Sora kept looking back at you but couldn't focus on both tasks.  
"I have to land to help you."  
"No." You shouted. "Get me... To the Jungle."  
"Pull up." A voice said over the radio.  
"Who's that?" You asked as you clawed at your shirt again.  
"I think it's one of Dreg's soldiers."  
Sora kept flying and after five minutes, you landed in the Deep Jungle.

You both heard an alarm going off in the radio.  
"You got the Keybearer. This war is over."  
A cheer went around the radio and you looked at Sora.  
"They hit us... Already?" Sora picked you up again and dragged you a long ways away, to the tree stump.  
"Just wait a little, okay?"  
He whipped out his keyblade and pointed it at you. You glowed green as you did when you were being healed and the pain went away a little.

"How do you feel now?"  
"It still hurts." You mumbled.  
"What happened?" Sora asked.  
"I don't know. I... feel as if my heart exploded or something."  
"Like that makes sense." Sora muttered.  
You glared up at him and saw something in the sky.  
"We're here."

-_-_-_-  
Sora and you hid behind the trees as you saw the younger Sora climb out of his ship. He went immediately to your ship and tried to pull you out. He looked around and started to walk towards you two.  
"What do we do?" Sora asked.  
"Go. Just you. See what happens." Sora nodded.  
He stepped out in front of the younger Sora. The younger Sora looked bewildered and the older Sora disappeared into him.  
"Sora?" You asked.  
"What happened?" Sora asked.  
"Uhm... I don't know." You looked just as amazed as he was.  
"That was really crazy. Do I look younger?"  
You nodded and you started to pace; you couldn't think of an answer. It took you till the time the younger you woke up for you to come up with a theory. You told Sora to follow you to the tree stump that was farther away from where you were.

"Maybe since there can't be two of us in the universe at one time, the older one disappears into the less experienced one but we keep our memory."  
Sora shrugged and looked at the tree stump.  
"How long should this take?"  
"At least thirty minutes." You muttered, sitting on the stump.

After a while, you heard footsteps running and you stood up. Sora and you hid behind the trees and watched as the younger you fell near the tree stump.  
"Do you think that it works with items?" You asked dreamily. You felt your necklace under your shirt.  
"What?"  
You watched as the younger you took off her necklace and placed it near the stump. You walked out from the trees and the younger you looked up.  
"Sora?" She asked.  
Her eyes widened and you disappeared into her. It was a weird sensation as everything you went through flashed before your eyes. And suddenly, you were in the younger you's body. Sora stepped from behind the trees and frowned.  
"Well, it's all over. We'll be picked up by Leon and go home."  
You smiled at Sora and nodded.

"Shouldn't you be happier than you are?"  
You shrugged, thinking about Hollow Bastion.  
"Maybe you should go."  
"Wait, what?"  
"Tell Leon to drop you off at the Tower and live there as you would. I'll take the other Gummi ship to Hollow Bastion. Then, I can live my life as I want to and you can live it as you want to."  
"But you want to be on the Tower too." Sora said.  
"I do. But I'm meant to live with the Restoration Committee."  
Sora looked at the tree stump and picked up the necklace.  
"I guess it still works." Sora said, handing you the necklace.  
"You keep it." You said as you closed his hand around it. "I have my own."  
Sora grinned and put the necklace around his neck. He stuffed it in his shirt.  
"Maybe the two will become one when they see each other again, huh?" Sora said, grinning.  
You smiled too and saw the Gummi ship in the sky.  
"Watch after Riku for me, all right?"  
Sora nodded and watched as you disappeared into the forest.

"Sora?" Sora turned around and smiled at Leon. "You sent the distress signal?"  
Sora nodded and Leon frowned.  
"No offense, but you sound a lot like a girl."  
Sora's grin wiped off his face and he glared at Leon.  
"Thanks." He said sarcastically.


	37. 36

"Ha! I win!"  
"No fair!" Zack yelled as he threw his cards on the table.  
Denzel threw his cards on the table too and you grinned at Marlene.  
"It's like déjà vu." You said, placing your cards on the table, face down.  
"What's that mean?" Marlene asked, collecting all her munny.  
"It means that you feel like something is happening again." Zack answered as he threw some more of his munny into the middle.  
"I'm out for this round, guys." You said as you stood up from the table.  
"I'm in!" Yuffie shouted as she sat down in your spot.  
Tifa looked at Denzel's cards and smiled while Aerith sat next to Marlene to check on her cards.

"Wanna help me in the shop?" Cid asked as he looked up from his magazine.  
You frowned and shook your head.  
"Magic, then?" Merlin asked eagerly.  
Again, you shook your head. You turned your attention to Leon and smiled. He smiled back even though he didn't know why.  
"What?" He asked.  
"How long have I been here?"  
"What do you mean?"  
"When did I first show up at your doorstep, scared and lost?"  
Cloud chuckled and looked at Leon.  
"Eight years ago." Cloud answered.

You cracked your back and smiled at Cloud.  
"You three boys want to come to the Tower with me?"

-_-_-_-  
You walked ahead of the three and smiled at the two guards at the resident path.  
"I'm sorry, Miss but this is for residents only. You and the others may want to enter the visitor side."  
You put your hand on the sphere and your name plate showed up.  
"No way." The first guard said.  
"You're alive."  
You grinned and walked into the Tower. As you were headed to the deck, you heard footsteps that were running after tinier footsteps. You turned to look at Leon and he smiled at what he saw.  
Sora was running after a little boy.  
"Sora!"  
He stopped what he was doing and beamed.  
"I knew you'd come back!"  
He left his son and ran towards you, Leon, Cloud and Cid. He tackled you first and shook hands with the other three, trying to be mature. He then took your hand and led you to his son.  
"Meet Tem."  
You smiled at Tem and noticed how this boy looked a lot like Sora but with Kairi's red hair.  
"Is he like Ella?"  
Sora shrugged and picked up his son.  
"Don't tell her, but I like him better." He walked a little and turned to face you. "Let's go see him."

You gulped and turned to look at Leon.  
"Maybe Kairi first?"  
Sora shook his head.  
"No. Riku."  
Cid chuckled and you turned around to glare at him. Behind Cid, you noticed your darkness appear but you let that settle down.  
"Watch yourself Cid." Sora said as he saw it as well. "She doesn't like to be teased."

-_-_-_-  
Sora let you see Kairi first, just so he could drop Tem over with her. She seemed to be very happy to see you and told you that she was pregnant with another child.  
_"I hope it's a girl." _

"I can't do this." You mumbled as you tried to turn around.  
Sora held on to you and turned you back around.  
"I've waited for you eight years. And so has he."  
You stopped again and turned to him, wide eyed.  
"How do I look, at least?"  
"Awesome."  
You rolled your eyes and put your hand on the glass sphere to the flight deck. The door slid open and you felt like you were going to pass out.  
"Captain is on deck." Elena said as she saw the two of you. She looked bewildered as she took another look at you.  
You saw Vincent at a computer who looked just as surprised.  
"Sora, what are you doing-" Riku stopped mid-sentence as he noticed you.

"Y-Y-" He stammered on what he was going to say "Sora?"  
Sora pushed you forward and you tripped a little.  
"I'm still not too good on these legs." You mumbled as you looked down, embarrassed.  
Riku flew forward and embraced you in his arms.  
"I can't believe you're alive." He whispered.  
He then kissed you and you were so happy at that moment.

"Everyone get out." Sora shouted.  
"But sir... We need to be here." Elena whispered to him.  
"We can leave for two minutes. I'm captain and what I say goes."  
"All right, _captain_." She said sarcastically.


End file.
